Star Metro - Opposing Ukraine aid bill is playing into Putin's hands: Biden

The "clock is ticking" for Ukraine, Biden said, calling out the former president and his likely 2024 rival for discouraging lawmakers from passing a $118 billion bill which ties Ukraine aid to immigration curbs, and which Republicans have threatened to block.

"We can't walk away now. That's what Putin's betting on," Biden said. "Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin. Opposing this bill is playing into his hands."

The bill, he said, included the "toughest set of reforms to secure the border ever."

But Republicans -- who have framed the border as a crisis for Biden -- are scuttling it nevertheless.

"Why? For a simple reason: Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks it's bad for him politically. Therefore ... even though it helps his country, he's not for it. He'd rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it," Biden said.

"For the last 24 hours he has done nothing, I'm told, but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them... It looks like they're caving. Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right."

The demand that military aid for Ukraine be tied to immigration reform came from Republicans in the first place, with Trump keen to equate the crisis at the border with chaos abroad that he repeatedly claims he would have averted.

But Trump has appeared reluctant to hand Biden a legislative victory ahead of the November election, and has pushed hard against it.

"Don't be STUPID!!! We need a separate Border and Immigration Bill. It should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form!" he posted on social media.

Biden and Trump offer starkly divergent approaches to Ukraine, with the Democrat clear that helping the pro-Western ally repel Russia is vital to ensure a safer world while his predecessor pushes an isolationist "America First" policy.

At home, Biden has pressed for a humane immigration policy but Republicans point to statistics showing migrant apprehensions reaching a record high of 302,000 in December, a surge Trump has been wielding as a major issue in the campaign.

The deal, unveiled by senators Sunday, is a bipartisan $118 billion package of immigration restrictions that Biden has committed to signing into law. It is tied to a foreign aid package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.

L.Pelletier--SMC