President Joe Biden warned Republicans on Tuesday that they would give Russia a "Christmas gift" if they failed to provide additional military aid to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose meeting with a top U.S. lawmaker concluded without a commitment for more support.
Zelenskyy traveled to Washington to plead for money to back Ukraine in its war with Russia, but he faced a skeptical reception from key Republican lawmakers. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, would not agree to support Biden's request to give Ukraine $61.4 billion.
"What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win and with none of the answers that I think the American people are owed," Johnson said after meeting with Zelenskyy.