At odds with congressional negotiations… The influence of the position of a strong candidate for the 2024 presidential election within the party
The shadow of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is running for re-election, is also casting a shadow over major budget negotiations in Congress.
U.S. political media outlets Politico and the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 25th (local time) that the Republican Party is experiencing internal confusion regarding the Ukraine aid package due to former President Trump’s hard-line anti-immigration stance.
Former President Trump has not hesitated to express his anti-immigration stance, represented by the construction of the southern border wall. He frequently calls immigrants rapists and drug addicts, and recently even said that immigrants pollute the blood of America.
In this situation, an additional budget related to Ukraine and the border worth $105 billion (approximately KRW 140.343 trillion) submitted by the Joe Biden administration last year is pending in the U.S. Congress, and negotiations are underway between the two parties.
President Biden is taking active steps, such as directly meeting with congressional leaders, to reach an agreement on the supplementary budget. However, it is not easy to overcome the influence of former President Trump, who had a strong anti-immigration stance.
Former President Trump, who has criticized the Biden administration’s border policy, is challenging ongoing negotiations in Congress. Ahead of the presidential election, he appears intent on not giving President Biden any results on the immigration issue.
In addition, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is considered a reasonable conservative within the party, is known to have made a statement in a closed-door meeting on the 24th to the effect that bill negotiations have encountered difficulties, citing the ‘political situation’ regarding the border issue.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), he appears to have said that he did not want to do anything that would be particularly harmful to the Republican presidential candidate. Former President Trump is the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
However, as the remarks became known and caused controversy, floor leader McConnell reportedly expressed his position that he was still friendly to negotiations at another closed meeting that day.
Former President Trump succeeded in receiving a majority of the votes in both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary held this month, winning his second consecutive primary. Within the party, pressure is growing on former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is still participating in the primary, to resign.
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.