United States President Joe Biden said that he is willing to meet with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson so that they could discuss a potential funding bill for Ukraine amid a stalemate.
The president's Monday statement included him saying that Republican lawmakers are making a mistake by opposing the aid package. Earlier this month, the Senate, in a bipartisan vote, passed a $95 billion aid package.
It included funding for Ukraine but Johnson has so far declined to even bring it up for a vote on the floor of the House, which Republicans control by a narrow 219-212 margin. The speaker has also been demanding to have a meeting with the Democratic president to discuss the issue.
In response, Biden said that he would be happy to meet with the House speaker if he has anything to say. The president said over the weekend that Republican lawmakers are making a big mistake by opposing Ukraine aid that the nation would use to fight against Russia's continued aggression, as per Reuters.
Congress is set to reconvene in Washington on Feb. 27, which is when it will face an urgent deadline to avert a political government shutdown. This would start on Mar. 1 if lawmakers fail to act on time.
Some officials have already been discussing alternate bills or paths to bypass the speaker's objections. However, those alternatives all carry their own uncertainties. On Monday, Johnson's spokesperson Raj Shah said that the speaker had been seeking a one-on-one meeting with Biden for several weeks and welcomed the president's latest sign of willingness.
The president also argued that by opposing the Ukraine funding bill, Republicans are "walking away from the threat of Russia" as well as "walking away from NATO." He said that the situation was shocking and something he had never seen before.
Discussing Ukraine Aid Bill
The situation comes as tensions are on the rise following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in what is considered to be a mysterious case. The death was reported by Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service on Feb. 16, according to Yahoo News.
Biden's willingness to meet with Johnson also comes after he said that he is considering imposing additional sanctions on Russia over Navalny's death. However, the Democrat did not elaborate on when those particular sanctions could be implemented or what they would include.
When the president was asked whether or not Navalny's death could spark movement from GOP lawmakers on Ukraine aid, he said, "I hope so, but I'm not sure anything's gonna change."
On Wednesday, Johnson said that he would continue to insist on a meeting with Biden because they need to talk about very serious issues that need to be addressed. He argued that if the speaker of the House is unable to meet with the president, that could be considered a problem.
However, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed the speaker's request, saying that there was nothing to negotiate. She claimed that Johnson was already presented with what he had asked for, adding that he was killing bills on his own, said the New York Post.
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