Biden reiterates support for Ukraine as US narrowly avoids government shutdown
US President Joe Biden has reiterated support for Ukraine as the US narrowly avoided a government shutdown on Saturday.
Biden urged Congress to pass separate funding for assistance to Ukraine in the war against Russia, after a stopgap funding measure dropped aid to the war-torn country.
“While the Speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” he said.
Biden also praised bipartisan efforts to keep the government open and funded through November but added that the last-minute scramble by House Republicans was a “manufactured crisis” that could have been avoided months ago.
Some context: A government shutdown was prevented after Congress passed a stopgap funding measure ahead of a critical midnight deadline in a whirlwind day on Capitol Hill.
President Joe Biden signed the bill late Saturday night.
The stopgap bill originally included funding for Ukraine to help Kyiv fight the full-scale invasion from Russia, but the funds were dropped after some conservatives raised objections during negotiations.
Democratic Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet briefly held up the vote on the bill after he objected over concerns about the lack of funding in it. Bipartisan members of Senate leadership released a joint statement committing to vote on further funding for Ukraine aid "in the coming weeks."
House Democratic leadership said in a statement that they expect McCarthy to bring a separate Ukraine aid bill to vote when the House returns
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