Biden Meets US Congressional Leaders: "Prevent Shutdown and Support Ukraine"

U.S. President Joe Biden met with congressional leaders from both parties on the 27th (local time) to urge the passage of a budget bill to prevent a federal government shutdown and to support Ukraine. However, the meeting ended as a 'fruitless meeting' with no concrete results, as House Speaker Mike Johnson, who holds the key to passing the budget bill, reaffirmed his stance that the 'border security' issue must be resolved first.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met in the Oval Office at the White House with House Speaker Johnson (Republican), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. In his remarks, he stated, "I believe it is Congress's responsibility to fund the government," adding, "A shutdown resulting from failure to pass a follow-up budget bill would deal a severe blow to the economy."

During the meeting, President Biden emphasized that a shutdown is absolutely unacceptable. He made it clear that Congress must take swift action to prevent a shutdown. The temporary federal budget passed by Congress last month is set to expire on October 1 and 8. If a bipartisan agreement on the 2024 fiscal year budget (October 2023 to September 2024) is not reached or an additional temporary budget solution is not found before then, a shutdown crisis is inevitable. The U.S. Congress, which is currently deadlocked over spending allocations in the budget bill, has passed three temporary budgets since last September to avoid a shutdown.

President Biden stressed the urgency of the situation in the Ukraine war and also urged the passage of a supplemental security package budget that includes aid to Ukraine. The White House stated, "President Biden emphasized the urgent need for support and discussed the recent retreat of Ukraine on the battlefield, the delayed passage of support budgets in Congress, and the resulting reduction in ammunition distribution." It was reported that CIA Director William Burns personally presented these specific situations. Additionally, President Biden highlighted that the security package budget to arm Ukraine is essentially an investment in the U.S. defense industrial base. The meeting lasted about an hour.

Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

After the meeting, House Speaker Johnson told reporters, "I believe we can reach an agreement to prevent a shutdown." However, he reaffirmed his previous position that the southern border issue must be resolved before supporting aid to Ukraine. He emphasized, "The country's top priority is securing our borders," and added, "We must take care of America first." He further stated, "I believe the president can immediately use executive authority to change the (border) situation. I reiterated this point."

Speaker Johnson also held a separate one-on-one meeting with President Biden that day. The White House said the one-on-one meeting was not scheduled in advance and did not disclose the specifics of the conversation.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing remarks from Leader Schumer, reported that pressure on Speaker Johnson to pass the Ukraine aid budget was greater than ever during the meeting between President Biden and congressional leaders from both parties. Leader Schumer told Speaker Johnson that if he blocks aid to Ukraine, he would "regret it for the rest of his life." The WSJ noted, "This shows that everyone is fighting for bipartisan priorities," adding, "Speaker Johnson has various options, but none can satisfy all Republicans. He is caught in a tug-of-war between hardliners and moderates who oppose additional spending."

While the U.S. Congress has yet to pass the Ukraine aid budget, among allied countries, there are proposals to use frozen Russian assets. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held a press conference in Brazil during the G20 summit and stated, that allies must quickly find ways to use the frozen Russian financial assets held by each country to support Ukraine.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.