U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday pressed congressional Republicans to back a bill to provide more aid to Ukraine, saying he was "sick and tired" of the political brinkmanship that nearly led to a government shutdown.
Biden spoke after Congress passed a stopgap bill on Saturday that extended government funding for more than a month and avoided a shutdown that would have left most of the federal government's more than 4 million employees without a paycheck and cut a wide range of services.
The bill, which passed with broad Democratic and Republican support, sparked hardline Republican Matt Gaetz to pledge to oust the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
The bill, which lasts through Nov. 17, did not include aid for Kyiv. The United States has been a major supporter of Ukraine after Russia invaded it last year, and Biden has sought to rally the world, as well as his own country, to maintain that support.
Biden said Republicans had pledged to provide that aid through a separate vote.
"We cannot under any circumstances allow America’s support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the speaker to keep his commitment to secure the passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend themselves against aggression and brutality," he told reporters at the White House.
Asked if he could trust McCarthy to honor deals, Biden said: "We just made one about Ukraine, so we’ll find out."
Reuters
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