Ukraine aid approval on hold in US Congress as speaker ousted
The US House of Representatives will not be able to approve new aid to Ukraine until it elects a new speaker after Republican Kevin McCarthy has been ousted, Kyiv's ambassador to Washington Oksana Markarova said.
Mr McCarthy was ousted following a dissent from the far-right wing in his Republican party, which accused the speaker of a ‘secret deal’ with the White House to give aid to Ukraine—something they have vehemently opposed.
Mr McCarthy also oversaw the passing of a temporary short-term budget resolution, which does not provide for Ukraine aid, with Democratic support, angering his more radical Republican peers.
While the House is led by an interim speaker, it will only work in committees and will not be able to vote on laws—until a new speaker is elected, Ms Markarova posted on Facebook.
She added that Congress’s lower chamber body has completed the session week and will return to work no earlier than 10 October.
"We in the Embassy continue active work with caucuses, committees, individual congresspeople and, of course, with the Senate to discuss our needs and possible solutions regarding the next Ukraine aid package," the ambassador added.
Ostap Yarysh, the Ukrainian correspondent for the Voice of America, said that Mr McCarthy's resignation means that discussions of new funding for Ukraine is "postponed indefinitely".
"The speaker determines legislative priorities, decides what to put to a vote, and what policy to pursue in general. Therefore, the influence of the radical wing of the Republican party on the new speaker will be of great importance," he wrote.
The US is by far the largest donor of military and financial support for Ukraine, having provided approximately USD 45 billion in military equipment since Russia’s full-scale invasion last February.
The Pentagon has warned it is running out of money to plan for further donations, with only USD 1.6 billion left of the USD 25.9 billion Congress provided to replenish US military stocks that have been flowing to Ukraine.