In a last-ditch effort to secure funding against Russia, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met today at the US Capitol with Speaker Mike Johnson. Following the 30-minute meeting, Johnson described their interaction as “good” and affirmed America’s steadfast support for Ukraine against Putin.

Since assuming the speakership, Johnson said he has sought “clarity” from the White House regarding the strategy enabling Ukraine to prevail.

“Thus far, their responses have been insufficient,” Johnson remarked. ” What the Biden Administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win, and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed.”

Addressing the situation at the border, Johnson characterized it as an “absolute catastrophe” resulting from the policies of the Biden Administration. He highlighted alarming statistics, including 12,000 illegal crossings in a single day last week and the apprehension of almost 280 known terrorists at the border. Johnson underscored the urgency, pointing out that nearly 7 million people have been encountered at the border since President Biden took office, with at least 2 million “gotaways” – twice the population of his home state, Louisiana.

According to Johnson, Republicans remain unwavering in their demands. He conveyed his conversations with Senator Schumer, the National Security Adviser, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense, asserting that Republicans are “resolute” in their stance.

According to Johnson, the Republicans do not seem willing to budge on their demands. He said that he told I have talked to Senator Schumer, he National Security Adviser, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense, that the Republicans are ” resolute” on where they stand.

“It is not the House’s issue right now. The issue is with the White House and the Senate, and I implore them to do their job because the time is urgent. And we do want to do the right thing here.”

According to the Office of Management and Budget Director, Shalanda Young, Congress has already allocated $111 billion to assist Ukraine. This includes $67 billion in military procurement funding, $27 billion for economic and civil assistance, and $10 billion for humanitarian aid. As of mid-November, nearly all of this allocation, except for approximately 3% of the military funding, has been depleted (per Young).

The Biden administration has acknowledged that it has reduced the pace of some military assistance to Kyiv in recent weeks to ensure the efficient utilization of supplies until Congress approves additional funding.

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Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Pavlovic Today. Credentialed at the White House, the U.S. Senate Press Gallery and the State Department. Pavlovic was a Teaching Fellow and Doctoral Fellow in the Political...