(UnitedHeadlines.com) – President Joe Biden is outraged with House Republicans’ decision to break for the remainder of December.
On Twitter, Biden criticized the decision, stating that House Republicans are leaving for the holiday break “without passing critical funding for Israel and Ukraine.” He added that the Republicans “can’t say there’s a crisis” at the southern border” and “then say you want to leave for three weeks.”
Biden had previously stated that a supplemental funding request needed to be passed before the end of the year to continue supplying uninterrupted aid to Ukraine. Republicans in the Senate and House linked the Ukraine funding package to funding for Taiwan and Israel, and policy changes at the southern border. The $106 billion supplemental spending package includes over $61 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine and $14.3 billion in aid for Israel. It also gives $1.4 billion to state and local governments struggling to handle the increase in migrants crossing the southern border.
Democrats had requested that House Speaker and Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson keep the House members in Washington, D.C., during the three-week break as the Senate continues its negotiations on the funding package. Despite the previously scheduled holiday recess, Senate Democrats will delay leaving for their break until Dec. 22. Senate Majority Leader and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer stated the Senate will continue negotiating the funding package and will vote on the national security aid package before heading on their holiday recess.
On Dec. 14, Schumer stated there had been “significant progress over the past few days,” adding that legislators “should take advantage of the opportunity.”
In a memo, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates claimed Republicans are prioritizing a “three-week vacation” over the funding package for Ukraine, Israel and the southern border.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also commented on the House adjourning for the holiday break, stating that “Ukraine needs help immediately, not after the eggnog.”
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