The recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore made national headlines as an emergency of major proportions as it caused the suspension of commercial ship traffic, with the possible impact on supply chains.
President Joe Biden has provided $60 million in emergency federal funding for initial efforts, pending Congress approval of the rebuilding budget.
And everything will depend on the legislation that authorizes the funds by both the House of Representatives, led by Republicans, and the Senate, led by Democrats.
Congress has repeatedly been divided by partisan battles over funding, and hardline Republicans are often at odds even with members of their own party.
Another promise from the president awaiting legislative action has to do with the $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine that was blocked by the Capitol for six months.
House Speaker Mike Johnson recently said he hopes to pass a package that includes aid for Ukraine with “some important innovations.” However, he did not fail to emphasize the difficult position he finds himself in with a historically narrow majority in the House.
That long delay in the delivery of weapons, which kyiv urgently needs, has not only undermined Ukraine’s defenses against Russian military aggression, but has also hit the credibility of the United States.
International allies believe that if Ukraine suffers a setback on the battlefield, congressional Republicans who have refused to sign off on aid will be partly responsible.
Fortunately for Ukrainian President Volodimyr Zelensky, legislative divisions over aid have sufficiently alarmed a Europe that has been forced to fill the void left by Washington with arms deliveries.
During the International Security Conference, held last February in Munich, Germany, conversations revolved around two figures who, although absent, exerted a determining influence on the conflict: Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Donald Trump. , who through his Republican supporters has blocked the aid package for Ukraine, proposed by Biden.
Likewise, Germany, although for different reasons, refuses to deliver sophisticated cruise missiles to Ukraine because these can only be operated by German soldiers and on Ukrainian territory it would mean the country’s direct participation in the conflict, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
All this political uncertainty that plagues Ukraine has been a boost for Putin, who last month was re-elected for another six years in a disputed election.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) contemplates the possibility that, if Russia manages to gain more control over Ukrainian territory, Putin will begin more aggressive actions against Eastern European countries, although, in a surprise statement, the Russian leader He called this “nonsense.”
Can Putin be trusted?He, after all, denied having any plans to invade Ukraine shortly before Russian troops crossed the border on February 24, 2022.
Although so far the Russian offensive has made some progress, performing better than the Ukrainian forces, the war could continue indefinitely, also depleting human and economic resources for the Kremlin.
Even if it’s just speculation, NATO has no choice but to continue spending tons of money on defense just to remind Putin that NATO countries are off limits, including what’s left of Ukraine.
For his part, Donald Trump has warned once again that if he wins the election, he expects all members of the Alliance to increase defense spending.
Not only that, in the last 2020 elections, there were genuine fears that the Republican would remove the United States from NATO, although he recently said that he would remain committed to the Organization as long as the Europeans “play fair” and contribute the necessary money.
Europe, for its part, is already beginning to consider a new scenario in which it will take care of its own security, without the United States as an ally.
