Biden's $105 billion request rejected

In the preliminary vote in the US Senate on whether the budget request in question should be put to a vote, many Republicans as well as independent Senator Bernie Sanders voted "no".

While 60 votes were required for the bill to come to a vote, 49 senators voted "no" and 51 senators voted "yes". Sanders, who usually acts with the Democrats but sided with the Republicans in this vote, stated that the reason for rejection was the aid to be provided to Israel.

In a written statement, Sanders said that he opposed unconditional billions of dollars to the (Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin) Netanyahu administration, "Israel certainly has the right to defend itself against Hamas, which launched an attack on October 7. But it has no legal or moral right to kill thousands of innocent Palestinian men, women and children." Republican senators, on the other hand, opposed aid to Ukraine on the grounds that the bill did not meet their demand for changes in immigration policy.

Experts commented that the future of the bill "drifted into the unknown". Biden came out hard On the other hand, US President Joe Biden said in a written statement before the vote, "Extremist Republicans are playing dangerous games with our national security. They are holding funds for Ukraine hostage to fund extremist (Mexican) border policies." Stating that they always need "real solutions", Biden said, "Likewise, real solutions are needed on the Mexican border." "Aid to Ukraine" crisis in the US Congress While fierce debates continued in the US Congress on aid to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky canceled the briefing he was to give to the members of the Senate on December 5 at the last minute and did not make a clear explanation about the reason for the decision. US President Joe Biden had requested a $105 billion budget, including $14 billion for Israel and $61 billion for Ukraine. However, Republicans in the US Congress, led by those in the Senate, are opposed to approving this budget without the adjustments they want, especially some changes in immigration policy. The White House and some Ukrainian officials warn that without US assistance to Ukraine, the war with Russia could be lost.