- Olaf Scholz is in Washington to secure more urgent aid for Ukraine
- He met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday afternoon
- It comes as the Senate moves ahead with another relief bill
President Joe Biden demanded Friday that Congress approve more aid to Ukraine during a White House meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He said it would be a disaster if lawmakers failed to pass a new aid package.
“The failure of the US Congress, if it occurs, to support Ukraine is close to criminal neglect,” he said. “It’s outrageous.”
Scholz is in town to strengthen Biden’s case and convince Republicans to approve a new tranche of aid.
A day earlier, the Senate introduced a $95 billion bill to authorize aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, days after another package that included immigration reform was rejected.
“Hopefully, Congress…the House will follow your lead and make a decision on providing the necessary support,” Scholz said.
President Joe Biden will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Oval Office on Friday
Ukrainian soldiers fire a D-20 howitzer at Russian troops at a position near the frontline city of Bakhmut. Sholz is in town to bolster support for a new U.S. aid package for Ukraine
“Because without the support of the United States and without the support of the European states, you have no chance to defend the country.”
Biden welcomed the German leader to the Oval Office, calling the German chancellor “Olaf” two minutes into the opening speech.
The will came as a relief to White House staff. Biden has struggled with the names of world leaders this week.
On Wednesday, he referred to a conversation Sholz’s predecessor Angela Merkel had in 2021 with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In fact, Kohl died four years earlier.
It came after he made a similar mistake with French presidents, describing a conversation with Emmanuel Macron as if it had taken place with François Mitterand, who died in the 1990s.
The White House has also been in damage control mode since Thursday’s release of a damning report on Biden’s mishandling of sensitive government documents.
Although special counsel Robert Hur recommended no charges be filed, his report painted a damning picture of a president struggling with “diminished capabilities.”
The US has had to cut military aid to Ukraine after budget authority dried up. The two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion is approaching
White House officials said the criticism was unfounded and misplaced, and on Friday they pointed to Biden’s record as the record of a president who gets things done.
And that meant talks with Scholz on Friday about how to get more help for Ukrainian forces that have been trapped for months after fighting back from Russia’s initial attack.
The White House has repeatedly warned that not sending more aid to Kiev would undermine the country’s ability to resist the Russian invasion.
Last week, the European Union approved a four-year package worth $54 billion.
But in Washington, the issue has become bogged down in domestic politics as Republicans first tried to tie more money to a deal to strengthen security at the southern border before changing their minds.