Biden blames Trump as border, Ukraine funds stall in Congress amid Republican opposition

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden sought to heap blame on his predecessor and likely 2024 White House challenger, Donald Trump, Tuesday for almost certainly killing a just-announced deal to address the nation's border woes.

The deal, which would also provide billions of dollars in new funding for Ukraine and Israel, appears to face an imminent death amid stalwart Republican opposition in the House of Representatives, and growing opposition among the Senate GOP.

Biden said Trump spent the last day speaking with lawmakers to "threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal," saying it appears as though "they're caving."

"All indications are this bill won't even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? A simple reason. Donald Trump, because Donald Trump thinks it's bad for him politically," Biden said in remarks televised from the White House. "He'd rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it."

Biden added, pointedly: “Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right.”

The Republicans have been dogged by charges in recent years that they are less a political party and more a cultish organization with few principles other than to do Trump’s bidding.

The bipartisan $118 billion deal was announced by lawmakers on Sunday. It includes funding to ramp up security along the US-Mexico border, and fund other national security priorities for Biden, including military aid for Ukraine and Israel.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said just minutes after Biden concluded his comments that it does not appear as though the package will be moving through the federal legislature. House Speaker Mike Johnson has also voiced opposition, and is pursuing plans to fund Israel in a standalone measure.

Biden said he is not yet ready to support such a bill, however.

"I'm not gonna concede that now. We need it all. The rest of the world looking at us, and they really are," said Biden.

The president first made the request for the over $110 billion package in November, but it failed to gain traction in the federal legislature until a breakthrough agreement was announced Sunday in the Senate.