US Congress may have a “chance” to increase funding for Ukraine during the lame duck session - senator
Kyiv • UNN
Democrat Tim Kaine said that additional funding for Ukraine is likely to be approved before the change of government. House Republicans may block the initiative because of Trump's position.
Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday that there is a possibility that Congress could approve additional funding for Ukraine before the transition to the Republican-controlled Congress and the administration of President-elect Trump, which may oppose more support for Kyiv, The Hill reports, UNN writes.
Details
Kaine said any Senate-approved package would likely face a major hurdle in passage in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where a growing number of GOP lawmakers oppose additional aid and will want to give in to Trump, who is skeptical of the cost of arming Ukraine and promises to end the war.
"Chance, chance - I mean, I'm not talking about probability, but I'm talking about chance," Cain said about more funding for Ukraine.
"There's going to be a battle here at the end of the year over all kinds of priorities, and just knowing the current composition of the Senate, the Senate has a chance, but the House is going to be tough," the senator said.
Kaine said the likely route for more funding would be through the appropriations bill.
However, as noted, Republican senators are unlikely to increase funding for Ukraine.
"Clearly, things are in a state of flux," said Republican Senator Jim Risch, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"President Trump says he's going to solve this problem - he has a habit of doing what he says he's going to do. And now, I think it's important that everybody gives him the opportunity to do that," he said of the war in Ukraine.
And Republican Senator Marco Rubio, officially nominated on Wednesday to be Trump's secretary of state, suggested that funding for Ukraine is not an immediate issue.
"Let's wait for the new administration to start working before we can find out... We still have to finance the government next month," he said.
Addendum
The Biden administration has an estimated $6 billion in funding for Ukraine that it must allocate by January 20, but is balancing the military equipment it sends to Ukraine with needs on the battlefield and available stocks at the US Department of Defense, the publication points out.
During a briefing on November 13, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan indicated that the Biden administration plans to send a "signal" to Congress during the next two months of the transition period about its desire to see new aid for Ukraine for 2025.
For reference
The last session of the US Congress of the previous convocation is also called the "lame duck" session.
