Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday said any new vote in that chamber on funding aid to Ukraine and strengthening the US border with Mexico in the face of illegal migration is “stillborn.”

The statement came as former Republican President Donald Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House, is pressuring Republican congressmen to block budget requests from his Democratic rival, according to US media. of President Joe Biden, France Presse and Agerpres report.

The latter asked for $61.4 billion in new funds to help Ukraine in its war with Russia, a measure blocked in Congress by Republicans who are demanding that the Democratic president crack down on illegal immigration at the Mexican border in exchange for authorizing those funds, which Biden included into a broader package of about $100 billion with funds for various purposes, including supporting Israel and strengthening the border with Mexico, where illegal migrants are arriving.

But, according to Mike Johnson, Democrats want the funds from this package, intended for the border with Mexico, to be used to manage the arrival of migrants, not to stem the flow. The only acceptable solution for Republicans is to restore the anti-immigration policies adopted by Trump, insists the speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority of the Republicans, an idea that is rejected by the Democrats, the majority in the Senate and who are trying to advance legislation in that chamber in line with the position of President Biden.

Under these conditions, “if the rumors about the content of the bill (currently being debated in the Senate) are true, it is stillborn before it even reaches the House of Representatives,” noted Mike Johnson.

The latest package of US military aid to Ukraine was announced on December 27, and the White House has repeatedly warned that without the approval of new funds in Congress, Washington will no longer be able to provide such aid to Kyiv.

____

• Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro