A secret briefing in the upper house of the US Parliament on assistance to Ukraine and Israel ended in scandal.
Chad Pergram, senior congressional correspondent for the American Fox News channel, reported this on the X social network.
Why did the briefing end in scandal?
Due to differences between Democrats and Republicans, there was a testy atmosphere at the briefing, Pergram said.
According to the journalist, the dispute arose because the Republican minority leader in the upper house of Congress, Mitch McConnell, tried to change the topic of the briefing by starting a discussion of US border security.
In addition, one of the Republican senators shouted at the general who was present at the briefing.
One of them showed disrespect and started shouting at the general, – the journalist quotes the words of the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
Pergram also reported that Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer noted the drama of the meeting, while Democratic Sen. Mark-Warner said passions had run high.
According to the American edition of The New York Times, a group of Republican senators left the meeting before its conclusion because they were angry that US President Joseph Biden’s administration officials refused to answer questions about border security, which, according to senators, is a prerequisite for any plan to assist the Allies.
The NYT states that now even those Republican senators who strongly advocated aid to Ukraine do not intend to support the bill.
The White House previously asked Congress for $106 billion to help Ukraine and Israel, but did not receive unequivocal support.
The Republican-controlled lower house of Congress voted to support only Israel, but the Democratic-majority Senate blocked the initiative. Biden has said he will not sign a bill that provides aid only to Israel.
The day before, Schumer suggested that Republicans introduce an amendment to the bill proposed by the White House that would take into account their request to resolve border issues, and urged them not to delay the approval of aid to Ukraine.
