President Biden’s administration has requested $24 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, comprising $16 billion for replenishing US weapons stocks and $8 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). This request, submitted on November 25th, faces a December 20th deadline to avoid a government shutdown and has drawn criticism from some Republicans who believe it hinders peace negotiations. The USAI funds weapons production for Ukraine rather than depleting US reserves further. Despite this opposition, the administration remains committed to supporting Ukraine’s defense through 2025.
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Senate Republicans are criticizing Democrats’ use of the lame-duck session to confirm numerous President Biden’s judicial nominees, citing the late-night voting sessions as disruptive and prioritizing these confirmations over other pressing issues. Republicans are hampered by a lack of votes to block the confirmations and are attempting to delay the process. This contrasts sharply with the Republicans’ actions in 2020, when they confirmed a significant number of Trump’s judicial picks during their own lame-duck session. Despite Republican complaints and efforts to slow confirmations, Senate Majority Leader Schumer intends to proceed with confirming as many of Biden’s nominees as possible before the end of the year.
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