Biden signs measure to avert shutdown but Ukraine aid remains frozen

Joe Biden on Friday signed a measure to keep the US government funded but as Washington shivered under its second major snowfall in a week, the bill did not unfreeze funding for Ukraine.

Hard-right House Republicans, led by the speaker, Mike Johnson, are ensuring the chances of more money and weapons for Kyiv in its fight with Moscow hinge on negotiations for immigration reform.

On Wednesday, the president welcomed Johnson and other senior Republicans, as well as Democratic leaders, to the White House for talks.

Though the meeting ended with the two sides still short of agreement on immigration and the southern border, Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, said he was optimistic a deal could be struck and aid to Ukraine thereby put back on the table.

“Once Congress avoids a shutdown, it is my goal for the Senate to move forward to the national security supplemental as soon as possible,” Schumer said. “Our national security, our friends abroad, and the future of democracy demands nothing less.”

On Friday, addressing a group of mayors at the White House, Biden said he was “ready to act” and believed, “God willing and the creek not rising”, the Senate would agree an immigration deal.

“The question for the speaker and the House Republicans,” Biden said, was: “Are they ready?”

After the Wednesday White House meeting, however, Johnson told reporters: “We understand that there’s concern about the safety, security and sovereignty of Ukraine. But the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty and our safety and our security.”

Many observers suggest Republicans do not want a deal on immigration and the southern border, instead using the issue, and the concept of more aid