Due to difficulties in the U.S. Congress’s budget negotiations for the next fiscal year (October 2023 to September 2024), the date of the federal government’s ‘shutdown’ (temporary work suspension) estimated by the U.S. Treasury is five days away. Whether to provide additional support due to the prolongation of the war in Ukraine is becoming a final issue in negotiations.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 25th (local time), negotiations are at a stalemate over up to $25 billion (about 33.7 trillion won) in additional support budget for Ukraine requested by the Joe Biden administration. In the U.S. Senate, support for Ukraine is gaining bipartisan support, but in the House of Representatives, which is controlled by the opposition Republican Party, there are strong calls for an end to support for Ukraine, led by hardliners in the Republican Party.
Some hardliners are warning that their party’s House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will be stripped of his position if he agrees with the ruling Democratic Party to support Ukraine. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, nicknamed ‘Trump in high heels,’ posted on He pressured his fellow lawmakers not to process the related budget bill for the Ministry of National Defense.
The U.S. Congress has provided military, humanitarian, and economic support worth $113 billion (approximately 152 trillion won) to Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. The Ukrainian military is going on the offensive, claiming to have killed 34 officers, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, through missile and drone attacks. However, it is pointed out that a prolongation of the war is inevitable, with Russia also drastically increasing next year’s defense budget to about 150 trillion won, or 6% of gross domestic product (GDP). Accordingly, voices of rift are emerging from Western countries that supported the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. federal government spending laws expire on the 30th of this month, when this fiscal year ends. If the new budget is not processed, approximately 800,000 government-related workers, excluding essential personnel, will be forced to go on unpaid leave from midnight on the 1st of next month when the next fiscal year begins. Moody’s, one of the world’s three largest credit rating agencies, warned that “the shutdown will have a negative impact on the U.S. national credit rating.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.