With Trump in the ascendant, even Kyiv's allies in US Congress rethink aid

When US President Joe Biden made a last-minute request to Congress recently that lawmakers include an extra US$24 billion (S$32.4 billion) in military aid for Ukraine in their year-end spending package, it received little attention and no serious consideration from members of either party.

WASHINGTON -

That was partly because Ukraine had yet to spend the last multibillion-dollar infusion lawmakers approved early in 2024 to back the country in its war with Russia.

But the chilly reception also reflected how reality has set in on Capitol Hill that the election of Donald Trump has effectively brought the era of US military support to Ukraine to an end.

The US President-elect has made no secret of his animus towards Ukraine and the nearly US$175 billion the US has invested in its fight against Russia.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed Mr Biden's Thanksgiving-week request by noting that the question of how - and whether - to continue helping Ukraine was no longer up to him.

"It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision," Mr Johnson said, adding that the Republicans would wait for direction from Trump when it came to Ukraine.

While a bipartisan consensus has long existed in Congress for supporting Ukraine in its struggle against Russia, a majority of House Republicans have opposed sending military aid for more than a year.

And in the weeks since Trump's election, several of the staunchest Republican boosters of providing funding for Ukraine's war have markedly changed their tune to match his, even as they continue to speak about the importance of supporting the country itself.