Republicans’ failure to select a new Speaker of the House risks complicating White House efforts to send billions of dollars in extra US military aid to Israel and Ukraine, as lawmakers brace for a third week of chaos on Capitol Hill.
Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said at the weekend that the US president had “made clear” he would ask lawmakers to endorse a new package of funding for Ukraine and Israel.
Sullivan told CBS’s Face the Nation programme on Sunday to “expect intensive engagement with Congress this very week, as we work on such a package and seek to secure bipartisan support”. The value of the proposed package would be “significantly higher” than $2bn, he said.