President Joe Biden mistakenly referenced NATO in his plea to Congress to pass funding for Ukraine.
Biden was referring to the bill providing aid to Ukraine, which includes $8 billion in “direct budget support” for the Ukrainian government, $14 billion for weapon purchases, $15 billion for military services, plus $10 billion in humanitarian aid that will be shared between Ukraine and Gaza, among other war zones. Another $14.1 billion is outlined for Israel’s military operations, and $1.9 billion to Taiwan’s weapon stockpile.
“The idea that we’re going to walk away from Ukraine, the idea that we’re going to begin to let NATO split is totally against the interests of the United States of America, and it’s against our word we’ve given since all the way back to Eisenhower,” Biden said to reporters in Delaware on Saturday. “So it’s about time we make sure Congress come home and pass the legislation funding NATO.”
Neither Ukraine, Israel, nor Taiwan are NATO members.
While the Senate passed the bill in its chamber, the House is on a two-week recess. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has signaled that it will not pass. However, since the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Johnson seems to have changed his tune to suggest that the United States use “every means available to cut off Putin’s ability to fund his unprovoked war.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
While Biden suggested the House return from its recess early, he spent another day at his vacation home in Delaware rather than the nation’s capital. Biden took 22 days of vacation last year. That is in addition to the 138 days he spent working remotely from his homes in Delaware, Camp David, and other vacation sites. When all three years are considered, Biden spent 254 days in Delaware, which adds up to a total of 408 days away from the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. would support his country until it could “secure a just and lasting peace” with Russia during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
