The ouster of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday has put the question of future U.S. military aid to Ukraine in further doubt, with President Joe Biden expressing “worry” on Wednesday.
Biden’s request for another US$24 billion to ensure Ukraine’s defence effort is funded through the rest of the year was already in jeopardy after the funds were removed from a short-term spending deal that prevented a government shutdown last week. Now, Congress has been paralyzed by McCarthy’s unprecedented removal. Legislation cannot be brought up for votes in the House of Representatives before a new Speaker is elected, and lawmakers must first focus on passing spending legislation before Nov. 16, or else the government will shut down again. “It does worry me,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday when asked if the chaos in the House concerned him when it comes to further Ukraine aid. He suggested there may be “an alternate means” to get funding for Ukraine without Congress, but declined to explain further. Biden said he would be delivering a “major speech” soon about the importance of continuing to fund Ukraine’s defence effort, which he noted still has strong bipartisan support among a majority of House and Senate members. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say when that speech will be delivered, telling reporters later on Wednesday she would not get ahead of Biden’s comments. She also noted the bipartisan support for Ukraine, but admitted the objections of some Republicans were proving to be an obstacle.
“When you have a small fraction of a party that is causing that type of chaos, you know, it doesn’t look great across the globe,” Jean-Pierre said. “That doesn’t look very promising.” Biden on Tuesday convened a call with allies and partners to discuss Ukraine. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was on the call along with leaders from the European Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and NATO…Source: globalnews.ca/
Saturday, April 18, 2026
