House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday rejected a White House request to pass $24 billion in additional aid for Ukraine by the end of the year, saying any further assistance for Kyiv would be decided by President-elect Trump when he assumes office in January.
“I’m not planning to do that,” Johnson said in response to a question if he would add aid for Ukraine to a continuing resolution to fund the government.
Johnson, speaking during a House Republican Leaders news conference, said Trump’s election victory is changing the dynamic of Russia’s war on Ukraine and that any additional U.S. assistance for Kyiv should be decided under the next administration.
“As we predicted and as I said to all of you, weeks before the election, if Donald Trump is elected it will change the dynamic of the Russian war on Ukraine, and we’re seeing that happen,” he said.
“So, it is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now, we have a newly elected president and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that so I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”
The White House request to Congress would have provided additional aid for Ukraine through 2026, amid expectations that Trump will pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin for an end to the nearly three-year war.
Biden’s request to Congress reportedly called for $8 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which helps provide military equipment to Ukraine, fund training of its armed forces and advisory efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s defensive position against Russian aggression.
The request also included $16 billion for the Department of Defense to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine, and funds for repair of military equipment in DOD stocks. The funds are also used to reimburse the DOD for military education and training provided to the Ukrainian government or other foreign countries supporting Ukraine.
The Biden administration has about $6 billion in funds left for Ukraine, but is facing challenges in giving the full amount because of dwindling American military stockpiles.
The administration announced on Monday a military package worth $725 million, to include air defense capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery and anti-tank weapons.
While a majority of Republicans and Democrats support providing military and economic aid to Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia, Trump and his allies, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, have criticized the amount provided to Ukraine as wasteful and diverting from priorities in the U.S. and to confront China.
To push back against cutting off U.S. assistance entirely, pro-Ukraine lawmakers are working to pass legislation by the end of the year that gives Congress the power to compel the president to provide future military and economic support.
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