The agreement on migration and assistance to Ukraine/Israel was blocked by Republicans in the US Senate

On February 7, Republicans in the US Senate, as expected, failed to vote on a bill providing for new aid to Ukraine and Israel and tightening the country’s immigration laws.

Approved by both Democrats and Republicans a few days earlier, the document did not receive the required 60 votes in the upper house of the US Congress. Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized the bipartisan agreement and called on his allies not to make any compromises on border security.

In Germany, writes DW, alarmed by the blocking of aid to Ukraine in the US Senate. The Republicans’ refusal to approve aid to Ukraine is only the first alarming signal, German politicians say. If Trump comes to power in the United States, the security of Europe will be under threat. Chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee Michael Roth of the Social Democratic Party of Germany said yesterday:

“The blocking of aid to Ukraine in Congress is just the first sign of what may yet happen if Donald Trump is re-elected to the White House in November. Then, overnight, the security of Europe will no longer be guaranteed. The future of a free and independent Ukraine will be in the greatest danger.”

He criticized the position of the European Union, which for too long relied on the United States to continue to provide Ukraine with full military support:

“We Europeans must finally take more responsibility to contain and stop Russian imperialism. This is the right way, no matter what the next (US) president’s name is Trump or Biden. We must finally wake up.”

Norbert Röttgen, a foreign policy expert with the Christian Democratic Union, called the position of the Republicans who blocked aid to Ukraine in the Senate “destructive for the foreign policy weight of the United States.” He believes the conflict between Democrats and Republicans on the issue is weakening allies’ trust in the United States and encouraging states like China and Iran to challenge the United States militarily. The politician also called on Europe to strengthen its security in light of Donald Trump’s possible return to presidential power:

“We must finally wake up and prepare for a possible Donald Trump presidency by investing heavily in our own security.”

US President Joe Biden sharply criticized Republicans in Congress after the Senate GOP blocked a bipartisan agreement on the border and a foreign aid package, including for Ukraine. He said he “never thought I’d see anything like what we’re seeing now” on Capitol Hill and accused his opponent, former President Donald Trump, of calling and “threatening” lawmakers with “retribution” if they will support a package that also includes more American funding for Ukraine and Israel. Biden said the Republicans did this “because Donald Trump is calling them and threatening them.” quotes CNN.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova reports that the US Senate on Thursday at 19:00 Kiev time will again consider a “clean” bill on assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, without migration reform. According to her, quotes The New York Times, the big package (Ukraine/Israel/Taiwan/Migration Reform) was expectedly not supported due to the lack of votes for the agreement on migration reform, which negotiators have been working on in recent months:

“That is why, even before voting for the large package, the Appropriations Committee published the text of the “replacement” document, which provides exclusively for international assistance to Ukraine ($60.06 billion) to Israel and Taiwan.”

The Ukrainian ambassador explained that the Senate supported the procedural decision to reconsider the vote that was necessary to put to a vote the question of ending the debate and considering the merits of a “clean” US foreign aid bill without immigration reform. This will require 60 votes:

“The evening session (of the US Senate) is closed, Majority Leader Schummer said he intends to bring to a vote the question of ending debate on the US foreign aid bill, which includes Ukraine, Israel and the states of the Indo-Pacific region, at 12 noon Washington time on February 8 “.

The NYT notes that the Senate was “stuck” on Wednesday in a vote on a bill to provide tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine and Israel after Republicans blocked a compromise that would have included aid coupled with “strict border security measures” and adjourned. and making no progress on a national security spending package.

Democrat Chuck Schumer was hoping for a quick vote Wednesday on what he called his “Plan B” to restore the relief package after the collapse of the border deal. But by Wednesday evening, the work had stalled as Senate Republicans were in no hurry to vote: The plan, developed over four months of painstaking bipartisan negotiations, lost Republican support after Trump vigorously opposed it. It failed in a 50-49 vote, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance because all but four Republicans , voted to reject it.”

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