In a private meeting with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders on Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson made it “unequivocally” plain that he wants to avert a government shutdown, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The future of Biden’s proposal for help to Ukraine, which has been postponed, is more uncertain, though.
According to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, legislative leaders are optimistic that they can prevent a shutdown after their meeting with the president, even though federal money is almost completely exhausted (with only four days to go). Keeping the government open was the main focus of the discussion, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who spoke to reporters at the Capitol. “I think we all can agree on.”
By now, it should be obvious that Congress requires a temporary fix to prevent a partial closure on Saturday at midnight. There may not be much of a choice now, but Schumer suggested that Johnson inquire about the likelihood of approving such a short-term law. Johnson has been attempting to avoid a so-called continuing resolution.
Despite the fact that the leaders of both parties were in agreement on a temporary funding measure for the government, Schumer claimed that there was a “intense” component to the White House meeting that centred on Ukraine. At that very moment, every single person in the room was putting intense pressure on Johnson to deploy relief immediately.
Johnson has made it clear that border security is his top priority, even though he rejected a bipartisan Senate bill on the subject only weeks ago. This move further casts doubt on the prospects of a $95 billion foreign aid bill that the Senate enacted.
The energy was through the roof because everyone there was emphasising to Speaker Johnson how critical it is… “I’ve rarely seen a meeting with the passion, the importance of getting something done,” Schumer told reporters at the Capitol after the meeting. That “McConnell was the lead speaker in saying we needed to do Ukraine” was something he also mentioned.
Rather than stand with Johnson before reporters after the meeting, the Senate GOP leader hurried back to the Capitol, giving the speaker a chance to argue his point without distraction.
After the Republican rejection of the Senate border plan, Schumer allegedly informed Johnson that Congress “can’t tarry” any longer on supporting Ukraine.
Johnson pushed for unilateral action from Biden to stop migrant crossings, but Biden asked Congress to fund his proposal for increased border security, sparking another disagreement between the two.
Furthermore, Johnson seems to be ignoring the critical necessity to provide Ukraine with deadly aid for its defence against Russia, stating that he is prioritising a strategy to combat the increasing number of people crossing the southern border. He went on to say that when the other leaders departed, he met with Biden alone, that he was optimistic about averting a shutdown, and that the House will deal with Ukraine “in a timely manner.”
As he departed the White House, Johnson emphasised, “We have to take care of America’s needs first.” He continued by saying, “the catastrophe at the border is affecting everyone” and urging Biden to take executive action to curb the unprecedented number of illegal border crossings.
Growing worries that Kyiv’s defence against Russian aggression will begin to deteriorate as the U.S. keeps waiting on further resources undermine Johnson’s confidence with prioritising the border before Ukraine. Once Schumer got back from Ukraine, he informed Johnson facing a historic decision: whether or not to bring help to Ukraine to the House floor.
As it pertains to standing by our friends in the Indo-Pacific, Israel, and Ukraine, “this is an existential moment for the free world,” Jeffries stated.