by Bernhard at Moon of Alabama
Biden administration has tried to push large foreign aid funds for Ukraine and Israel through Congress. They were held up over immigration issues, a domestic foreign policy issue that has nothing to do with the other funds.
I had wondered how that had happened. I had assumed that the Republicans had inserted the issue into the vote on the funds.
But it now turned out that it was the Biden administration itself which put all three issues into one package. This led to the failure of all three measures.
Biden Tied Ukraine Aid to Border Security, and It Backfired on Him – NY Times – Dec 7, 2023
When President Biden sent his request to Congress last month for aid to Ukraine and Israel, he included a request for more money to help with security at the border with Mexico, a sweetener intended to both address a crisis and win over support of Republicans.But the move has now left Mr. Biden in a box.
By putting the issue on the table, he ignited demands from the right for broad changes to border policy, leaving his own party divided on a topic that many Democrats see as a political vulnerability heading into 2024 and further complicating prospects for top foreign policy priorities.
The White House had negotiated with itself. It had come up with a ‘sweetener’ to goad the Republicans into agreeing to the fund measures. But that sweetener was not big enough for the Republicans. It thereby proved to be toxic for the whole deal.
What a huge policy failure.
Why put one issue, immigration,…
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