Washington (agencies)
The confrontation suddenly intensified yesterday between US President Joe Biden and the Republicans over the difficult negotiations in Congress over Ukraine and immigration, in an additional indication of the intensification of the election campaign.
Under pressure from the right, the issues of aid to Ukraine and the migration crisis are being negotiated within a single draft law, jeopardizing the supply of weapons and basic equipment to the Ukrainian army as talks on migration policy falter.
In the evening, the Democratic President called on conservatives in Congress not to obstruct a bill on immigration over which negotiations between the two parties had made progress in recent days in the Senate, stressing that, if approved, it would constitute “the strictest and fairest reform package ever to secure the borders.” He added in a statement, “This will give me, as president, a new emergency power to close the borders when they become overcrowded,” stressing, “If I am given this power, I will use it on the same day I sign the bill so it becomes effective.”
“If you are serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it,” Biden said.
Biden, 81, issued his statement in response to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who warned yesterday that any text on new funding for military aid to Ukraine, as well as to enhance security on the border with Mexico, which is witnessing a record influx of migrants, would be “dead in the cradle.”
This escalation in tone is taking place at a time when former President Donald Trump, the most prominent candidate to represent the Republican Party in the race for the White House, is exerting pressure on his party’s representatives to obstruct his Democratic opponent’s demands regarding the budget.
Johnson confirmed in a letter to American representatives, “If the rumors about the content of the bill currently being negotiated in the Senate are true, it will be dead in the cradle even before it reaches the House of Representatives.”
This message is an additional negative indicator of the expected outcome of the complex negotiations taking place in Congress, which is divided between a Senate with a Democratic majority and a House of Representatives controlled by Republicans.
The president is demanding a vote on an additional budget worth approximately one hundred billion dollars to meet urgent needs, the most important of which is securing supplies to Ukraine.
The negotiations became more complex with the acceleration of the presidential election campaign scheduled for November, in which the confrontation between Biden and Trump is expected to be repeated. The former Republican president made immigration one of the main issues of his attack on his opponent.
Tensions are also rising between the federal government and Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has installed barbed wire on the border with Mexico, challenging Washington's authority in terms of border security.
Abbott received significant support from Trump and a number of Republicans.
The last package of US military aid to Ukraine dates back to late December, and the White House has repeatedly warned that it will be the last aid unless an agreement is reached on an additional budget.
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