Democrats in US Congress may approve new aid for Ukraine and override Trump’s veto, - Reuters
The Democrats, who gained control of both houses of Congress following the US mid-term elections, will be able to decide for themselves from January onwards what to put to a vote, including new aid for Ukraine. Such a package would likely secure enough votes to override a veto by President Donald Trump.
This is reported by Reuters, as relayed by Censor.NET.
What will change from January
Reuters notes that the Democrats gained control of the Senate and the House of Representatives following Tuesday’s election results. During the campaign, they argued that the Republicans had handed over Congress’s constitutional powers regarding war and spending to the Trump administration; now, the agency expects, they will curtail those powers.
According to the publication, from the start of the year, the Democrats will be able to decide what is put to a vote and when. This could, in particular, allow them to approve further aid for Ukraine. Overriding a Trump veto requires a two-thirds majority, and such a bill is likely to secure it.
Democratic aides, Reuters reports, have stated that aid to Kyiv is a priority for the party.
Why this matters
As the agency notes, Trump has largely suspended direct financial and military aid to Ukraine, despite broad support for such aid from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
He recently drew the ire of members of Congress, including many Republicans, when he lifted sanctions on Russian diesel fuel and suspended sanctions on the Russian energy sector just a few weeks after signing the relevant legislation.
What the Democrats are proposing
Reuters also reports that Gregory Meeks, a Democratic representative from New York who is likely to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has introduced a cross-party bill to block Trump’s plan to allow Russian diesel fuel back onto the global market.
The exact size of the Democratic majority is not yet known. However, according to the agency’s assessment, support for Ukraine from this party and many Republicans has historically been so strong that Congress may be able to muster a sufficient majority to override Trump’s veto.
US mid-term elections
- As a reminder, following the US mid-term elections held on 3 November, the Democratic Party is now set to gain control of both houses of Congress. This amounts to at least 54 seats in the Senate (51 are needed for a majority) and over 231 seats in the House of Representatives (218 are needed). The results have not yet been finalised.
- In these midterm elections, the Democrats have turned several states ‘blue’ that had been Republican for decades; in particular, the voting in Texas, Kansas and Southern California produced such results.
- The last time a Democrat was elected as a senator from Texas was in 1988, and from Kansas in 1932.
- Against this backdrop, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the New York Times that he was "prepared to accept the election results" and to cooperate with the Democrats. On his social media platform, Truth Social, he wrote that "he was not on the ballot", which is why the Republicans are suffering defeat.
- The results of these elections will determine which ruling party controls Congress for the next two years. If the opposition party secures a majority in one or both chambers, it can make it more difficult for the president to pass legislation and exert greater scrutiny over his administration. In this case, it is the Democrats who are opposing the Republican Trump.
