Biden’s long fight with Republicans over Ukraine aid is over, but significant damage has been done

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe BidenUkraine’s long and painful battle with Republicans in Congress over urgent aid to Ukraine will end Wednesday when he signs into law a $95 billion war aid measure that also includes support for Israel, Taiwan and other allies.

But significant damage has been done to the Biden administration’s efforts to help Ukraine repel Russia’s brutal invasion during the financial standoff dating back to August, when the Democratic president made his first request for emergency spending for aid to Ukraine. Even with an explosion of new weapons and munitions, Ukraine is unlikely to immediately recover from its months of setbacks.

Biden is expected to quickly approve the transfer of an initial military aid package of about $1 billion — the first tranche of about $61 billion allocated to Ukraine, according to U.S. officials. It is expected to include air defense capabilities, artillery shells, armored vehicles and other weapons to support Ukrainian forces whose morale has plummeted under Russia’s presidency. Vladimir Poutine accumulated victory after victory.

In a statement after the Senate passed the package Tuesday evening, Biden said he would sign it as soon as he receives it Wednesday.

“This critical legislation will make our nation and the world safer as we support our friends who defend themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin,” Biden said.

But longer term, it remains unclear whether Ukraine – after months of losses in the country’s east and massive damage to its infrastructure – can make enough progress to maintain US political support before spending the latest influx silver.

“This does not work in favor of the Ukrainians in Donbas, and certainly not elsewhere in the country,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby, referring to the eastern industrial heartland where Ukraine suffered setbacks. “Mr. Putin thinks he can buy time. So we have to try to make up for some of that time.

Russia now appears focused on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Russian forces have exploited air defense shortages in the city, undermining the region’s energy infrastructure and seeking to create conditions for a possible summer offensive aimed at seizing the city.

House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed a vote on the additional aid package for months because far-right members of his party, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, threatened to oust him if he allowed a vote to send more aid to Ukraine. These threats persist.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that blocking funding by his fellow Republicans could have a lasting impact on Ukraine’s hopes of winning the war.

“Make no mistake: The delay in providing Ukraine with the weapons needed for its defense has strained the chances of defeating Russian aggression,” McConnell said Tuesday. “Hesitation and hesitation have compounded the challenges we face. »

Former president Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive 2024 presidential nominee, has complained that European allies have not done enough for Ukraine. Although he did not approve the additional funding plan, his tone has changed in recent days, recognizing that Ukraine’s survival is important to the United States.

Indeed, many European leaders have long feared that a second Trump presidency would result in diminished U.S. support for Ukraine and the NATO military alliance. European concern grew in February when Trump, in a campaign speech, warned NATO allies that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever it wants” to countries that do not would not meet their defense spending goals if he returned to the White House.

It was a key moment in the debate over Ukraine’s spending. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg quickly criticized Trump for putting American and European soldiers at “increased risk.” Days later, Biden called Trump’s comments “dangerous” and “un-American” and accused Trump of playing into Putin’s hands.

But in reality, the White House’s maneuvering to secure additional funds for Ukraine began months earlier.

Biden, the day after returning from a whirlwind trip to Tel Aviv following Hamas militants’ stunning attack on Israel on October 7, used a rare prime-time speech to make the case for additional funding.

At the time, the House was in chaos because the Republican majority had failed to choose a speaker to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted more than two weeks earlier. McCarthy’s reckoning with the far right of the Republican Party came after he agreed earlier in the year to authorize levels of federal spending that many on his right flank disagreed with and wanted Cancel.

Far-right Republicans have also been adamantly opposed to sending more money to Ukraine as the war appears to have no end in sight. Biden in August requested more than $20 billion to continue aid to Ukraine, but the money was stripped from a must-pass spending bill even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington to personally advocate for continued U.S. support.

In late October, Republicans finally chose Johnson, a low-key Republican from Louisiana whose thinking on Ukraine was opaque, to become the next speaker. Biden, in his congratulatory call with Johnson, urged him to quickly provide aid to Ukraine and began a months-long effort, largely behind the scenes, to bring the issue to a vote.

In private conversations with Johnson, Biden and White House officials weighed in on what’s at stake for Europe if Ukraine falls to Russia. Five days after Johnson was officially elected president, national security adviser Jake Sullivan briefed him on the administration’s strategy on Ukraine and assured him that accountability measures were in place in Ukraine to track where it was going aid – an effort to address a common conservative complaint. .

On explicit orders from Biden himself, White House officials also avoided directly attacking Johnson over the blocked aid — a directive the president has repeatedly instilled in his top officials.

For his part, Johnson presented himself to White House officials as a direct and honest actor throughout the negotiations, according to a senior administration official. Biden managed to find common ground with Republicans earlier in his term to secure passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure deal, legislation aimed at boosting the U.S. semiconductor industry and an expansion of federal health services for veterans exposed to toxic smoke from burning sites. And he knew that Republicans had broad support for additional funding for Ukraine.

At frustrating points in the negotiations, Biden urged his aides to “keep talking, keep working,” according to the official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal discussions.

That’s what they did. At a daily meeting called by White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, the president’s top aides — seated around a large oval table in Zients’ office — would brainstorm possible ways to better make the case Ukraine’s dire situation in the absence of aid.

Steve Ricchetti, advisor to the president, and legislative affairs director Shuwanza Goff were in regular contact with Johnson. Goff and Johnson’s senior executives also spoke frequently as a deal took shape.

The White House also sought to respond to Johnson and his various demands. For example, at the speaker’s request, administration officials briefed Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C. – two conservatives who were persistent antagonists of Johnson.

Meanwhile, senior Biden officials have frequently briefed McConnell as well as top Republican committee leaders, including Reps. Michael McCaul and Mike Turner.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Biden’s instinct to resist pressure on Johnson proved correct.

“Joe Biden knows very well when to intervene massively and when to try to shape things,” Schumer said.

Publicly, the administration has rolled out an intelligence decommissioning strategy that demonstrates Russia’s efforts to strengthen ties with U.S. adversaries China, North Korea and Iran to strengthen the industrial complex defense of Moscow and to circumvent American and European sanctions.

For example, U.S. officials this month presented intelligence findings showing that China has increased its sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technologies that Moscow in turn uses to produce missiles, tanks, planes and other weapons. Earlier, the White House released intelligence that Russia had acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and attack drones from Iran.

The $61 billion can help sort out Ukraine’s forces, but kyiv will need much more for a fight that could last years, military experts say.

Realistic goals for the coming months for Ukraine – and its allies – include avoiding the loss of major cities, slowing Russia’s momentum and providing Kiev with additional weapons that could help them transition to offensive in 2025, said Bradley Bowman, head of defense strategy and policy. analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.

“In our microwave culture, we tend to want immediate results,” Bowman said. “And sometimes things are just difficult and you can’t get immediate results. I think Ukraine’s success is not guaranteed, but Russia’s success is if we stop supporting Ukraine. »

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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.