PoliticsTop StoryUS

Biden to urge Congress’ top leaders to keep Govt open, send aid to Ukraine & Israel

President Joe Biden was meeting Tuesday with the top four leaders of Congress to press them to act quickly to avoid a looming government shutdown early next month and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel. Biden was hosting House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Vice President Kamala Harris also was attending.

Quick Read

  • Meeting on Government Shutdown and Aid: President Joe Biden convened a meeting with the top four Congressional leaders to urge swift action to prevent a potential government shutdown and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel.
  • Attendees: The meeting included House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, with Vice President Kamala Harris also present.
  • Focus on National Security: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized Biden’s priority on national security interests, including ongoing government funding, to avoid using these critical issues as “political football.”
  • Bipartisan Calls to Avoid Shutdown: Both Schumer and McConnell publicly stressed the importance of keeping the government operational to avoid the negative consequences of a shutdown.
  • Deadline Approaching: Without a spending agreement, parts of the government may begin to scale back operations by Friday, with a more extensive deadline for broader government funding set for March 8.
  • House’s Role in Aid Package: The House, led by Speaker Johnson, faces pressure to approve a $95 billion national security aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region, already passed by the Senate, but Johnson has hesitated to bring it to a vote.
  • Funding Expirations: Government funding for various sectors, including agriculture, transportation, and military construction, is set to expire soon, with the most immediate deadline this Friday.

The Associated Press has the story:

Biden to urge Congress’ top leaders to keep Govt open, send aid to Ukraine & Israel

Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —

President Joe Biden was meeting Tuesday with the top four leaders of Congress to press them to act quickly to avoid a looming government shutdown early next month and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel.

FILE – President Joe Biden meets with UAW members during a campaign stop at a phone bank in the UAW Region 1 Union Hall, Feb. 1, 2024, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Biden was hosting House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Vice President Kamala Harris also was attending.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden invited the leaders to the Oval Office meeting because he wants to make sure U.S. national security interests are “put first.” She said those interests include continuing to fund the government.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., maneuvers past reporters asking about the Senate border security bill as he arrives at his office in the Capitol, in Washington, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Johnson has declared the bipartisan bill “dead on arrival” in the House. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Look, what the president wants to see is we want to make sure that the national security interests of the American people gets put first, right?” she said Monday as Biden flew to New York. “It is not used as a political football, right? We want to make sure that gets done.

“And we also want to see that, you know, that the government does not get shut down,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that keeping the government open and functioning is a “basic, basic priority” of Congress.

The Senate’s top two leaders also urged that the government be kept open.

FILE – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., right, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of N.Y., talk to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Jan. 17, 2024, following a meeting with President Joe Biden. Biden is convening the top four congressional leaders at the White House on Feb. 27 to discuss the emergency aid package for Ukraine and Israel, as well as avoiding a government shutdown next month. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Parts of the government could start to scale back operations as early as Friday unless a deal is reached on spending and legislation is sent to Biden for his signature.

“We want to avoid a government shutdown,” Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor. “We want to work with all our House counterparts to spare the American people the pain that a shutdown would bring.”

McConnell likewise urged the political parties to work together to avert an “entirely avoidable” shutdown.

“Shutting down the government is harmful to the country,” he said Monday in a separate floor speech. “And it never produces positive outcomes on policy or politics.”

FILE – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, is escorted by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as he comes to the Capitol in Washington, to issue a plea for Congress to break its deadlock and approve continued wartime funding for Ukraine, Dec. 12, 2023. Two months later, that aid request had still not been met but Schumer and McConnell are keeping the Senate in session on Super Bowl weekend to force funding for Ukraine and Israel. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The House, under Johnson’s leadership, is under pressure to pass the $95 billion national security package that bolsters aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. That measure cleared the Senate on a bipartisan 70-29 vote this month, but Johnson has resisted scheduling it for a vote in the House.

Apart from the national security package, government funding for agriculture, transportation, military construction and some veterans’ services expires Friday. Funding for the rest of the government, including the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, expires a week later, on March 8.

Read more U.S. news

Previous Article
Biden signals hope for a truce in Gaza soon. Israel & Hamas indicate no deal is imminent
Next Article
Macron: Putting Western troops on ground in Ukraine is not ‘ruled out’ in future

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.

Latest News

Menu