Biden calls in congressional leaders to talk Ukraine aid, government shutdown deadline

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will host top congressional leaders at the White House Tuesday as he and fellow Democrats remain at odds with House Republicans over aid to Ukraine and government funding with a partial shutdown deadline just days away.

The “Big 4” leaders sitting down with the president are House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

The last time the group met was in mid-January to discuss how to break a stalemate over border policy and foreign aid.

Since then, Speaker Johnson, who rejected both a bipartisan border deal and stand-alone foreign aid bill out of the Senate, has been requesting a one-on-one session with President Biden but has so far been denied. The White House had criticized Johnson for his shifting views on how to move forward with the issues. Biden last week signaled he’d be willing to meet with Johnson if he had “anything to say.”

During Tuesday’s meeting with all four congressional leaders, Biden will try to “push forward” his supplemental funding request to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

“What the president wants to see is we want to make sure that the national security interests of the American people get put first, right?” Jean-Pierre said when asked what Biden would consider a successful meeting. “That it is not used as a political football, right? We want to make sure that gets done.”

She continued, “And we also want to see that the government does not get shut down. It is a basic priority or duty of Congress to keep the government open.”

Jean-Pierre also contended Biden, in past meetings, “moved the ball” on issues like the debt ceiling and border legislation.

“We have seen some movement,” she said. “We have seen the president’s leadership on this.”

The two-year mark of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine passed this weekend. Since Republicans took control of the House, no new aid has been approved by Congress to help Ukraine stave off Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Johnson dismissed the stand-alone foreign aid bill for not including border changes, and it was not brought to the House floor before lawmakers left earlier this month for a two-week recess. On the issue of Ukraine aid itself, Johnson previously said he wants answers from the administration on what exactly the endgame is for Ukraine and how the U.S. funds would be used to reach that goal.

Biden, in remarks last Friday, urged House Republicans to take up the Senate-passed foreign aid bill that would provide $60 billion to Ukraine as well as funding for Israel and Taiwan. Not supporting Ukraine, Biden warned, “will never be forgotten in history.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, in an interview on ABC’s This Week, put the onus on Johnson, saying “one person can bend the course of history” if he allows a vote on Ukraine aid. Sullivan said the administration believed it would ultimately receive bipartisan support. 

“Right now, it comes down to his willingness to actually step up to the plate and discharge his responsibility at this critical moment,” Sullivan said. “And history is watching.”

Meanwhile, if lawmakers can’t reach a spending agreement by Friday night, a partial shutdown will ensue affecting several agencies. If by March 8 there is still no legislation passed, a total government shutdown will occur.

Schumer, in a letter to colleagues ahead of lawmakers’ return to Washington on Monday, pinned blame on a possible shutdown and lack of foreign aid on the “extreme wing” of the Republican party.

“The fact is when Democrats and Republicans embrace compromise and cooperation, the Congress can invest in the American people, avoid an extreme Republican government shutdown, and fulfill our shared responsibility to protect our national security both at home and abroad,” Schumer wrote.

Johnson also issued a statement swiping at Schumer, accusing Democrats of playing “petty politics.” Republicans, he said, would be focused on reining in spending.

“At a time of divided government, Senate Democrats are attempting at this late stage to spend on priorities that are farther left than what their chamber agreed upon,” the speaker wrote on X.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.