U.S. Democrats reject House Speaker's demands for approval of new aid to Ukraine
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (Getty Images)
U.S. Democrats have refused to accept House Speaker Mike Johnson's conditions for approving new aid funding for Ukraine, according to The Hill.
Johnson's demands
A few days ago, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Republicans would not support any aid to Ukraine unless it was accompanied by new border security regulations. In particular, such norms include the construction of a new wall on the border with Mexico, as former President Donald Trump wanted.
"That border fight is coming," Johnson said.
Democrats' response
U.S. House Democrats, who support the allocation of new funds for border security but oppose such severe restrictions, quickly responded to Johnson's blackmail.
According to the agency, members of the Democratic Party indicated that they would not support any package that included such immigration restrictions if Johnson brought it to a vote.
"That would be ridiculous. Unfortunately, it would be to the detriment of Ukraine if they (Republicans - ed.) did that," said Mark Pocan, a member of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party.
At the same time, according to The Hill, representatives of the Democratic Party warned that they would never support a package of measures for Ukraine that included a new wall on the border with Mexico.
"That’s a non-starter for me, and I think for most of us," said House member Juan Vargas.
Another member of the House, Raul Grijalva, said that the border wall was a political symbolism for Republicans and that its construction was a waste of money.
What preceded it
A few months ago, U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress to allocate more than $100 billion for national security needs. The package included more than $60 billion in new funding to help Ukraine.
Republicans in Congress refused to support this initiative. They demand that the package include stricter measures to secure the border with Mexico.
Thus, for more than a month now, Congress has been trying to agree on such measures to approve the package.
Today, January 12, it became known that the United States has suspended assistance to Ukraine until Congress approves new funding.
