Is this the culmination of a soap opera, which keeps the world in suspense? The American House of Representatives will vote on Saturday on a major aid plan for Ukraine, but also Israel and Taiwan, supported by elected officials from both sides.
Parliamentarians will vote from 1 p.m. local time (5 p.m. GMT) on this gigantic envelope of 95 billion dollars (89 billion euros), requested for months by President Joe Biden. If all these measures are adopted, they will be examined by the Senate immediately.
The presidential election in funds
Unveiled on Wednesday, these texts are the result of months of extremely acrimonious negotiations, the comings and goings of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, and pressure from allies around the world. They even cost a Republican leader his job.
At the heart of all the tensions: the financing of the war in Ukraine. The United States is kyiv's main military backer, but Congress has not passed a major package for its ally in nearly a year and a half, mainly due to partisan wrangling.
Democratic President Joe Biden and his party in Congress are very supportive of new aid for Ukraine, at war with Russia. But the Republicans, led by Donald Trump, are increasingly reluctant to finance a conflict which is getting bogged down.
VIDEO. War in Ukraine: Zelensky says Russia had its hands on counter-offensive plans
In the middle of an election year, the issue has transformed into a remote duel between the two presidential candidates.
After months of procrastination, the Republican leader of the House, Mike Johnson, ended up supporting an envelope of 61 billion dollars (57 billion euros) for Ukraine. “To put it bluntly: I would rather send ammunition to Ukraine than send our boys to fight,” he pleaded, not without some emotion, during a press conference.
House Republican Leader Mike Johnson could lose his job after the vote. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy
This aid plan — primarily military and economic assistance — also authorizes President Biden to confiscate and sell Russian assets to be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. An idea that is gaining ground with other G7 countries.
Aid would resume “immediately”
The Democratic President's spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, also indicated on Friday that the flow of American aid to Ukraine would resume "immediately" after the adoption of this text by both houses of Congress.
It could only be a matter of days: the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, promised that his parliamentarians would “act quickly” after the vote in the House.
The adoption of this envelope would allow the allies of the United States to breathe a big sigh of relief. But it could, on the other hand, cost Republican leader Mike Johnson his job: a handful of conservative elected officials, fiercely opposed to aid to Ukraine, have promised to do everything to remove the “speaker” in order to punish him for his support . His predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, had already been dismissed last year after a rebellion by the Trumpist wing of his party, which accused him of a “secret agreement” with the Democrats on Ukraine.
Israel and TikTok
Among the other parts of the big plan: 13 billion dollars (12 billion euros) in military assistance to the historic ally of the United States, Israel, at war with Hamas. These funds will be used in particular to strengthen the Israeli anti-missile shield, the “Iron Dome”, and for humanitarian aid in Gaza.
It also provides for the ban on TikTok in the United States, unless the social network cuts its ties with its parent company ByteDance, and more broadly with China. The video platform is accused of allowing Beijing to spy on and manipulate its 170 million users in the United States. The Biden administration said it was “very supportive” of all of these measures.