The US Senate on Wednesday blocked consideration of a bill by President Joe Biden for a support package to Ukraine and Israel worth more than 110 billion dollars (102 billion euros). All Republicans in the Senate voted against, as did independent, progressive Senator Bernie Sanders.
Sixty expressions of support were needed to pass the bill, the Democrats received no more than 49. Before the vote, President Joe Biden had warned senators that the support package is decisive for the course of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
About 60 billion dollars of the money is intended for Ukraine. “We can’t let Putin win,” Biden said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US is an important ally of Ukraine in resisting the Russian invasion.
In exchange for the aid package, Republicans want Biden to take a stricter approach to immigration from Mexico to the United States. The number of people crossing the U.S. southern border has reached a record high in recent months.
The Republicans argue for stricter rules regarding migration and got their way under former President Trump, a Republican. His Democratic successor Joe Biden has taken a milder path, although he has also tried in several ways in recent years to reduce the number of people trying to enter the US.
By blocking consideration of the aid package, Republicans are “showing that we mean what we say,” Republican party leader Mitch McConnell said. The independent Sanders, who usually votes with the Democrats, voted against because he is concerned about the support for Israel in the package, given “the current inhumane military strategy” the country is pursuing in the war against Hamas.
For Biden, blocking the treatment is a serious defeat. He had hoped to have the aid package approved this year. It is unlikely that this will work now, reports The New York Times.
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