US StateDept: Ukraine Will Have "Severe Problem" w/Out Additional Funds

Wires carrying comments from an unnamed US State Department official, stating that State is, "working through requests but Ukraine will have a severe problem without the money." According to the official, "there are strong majorities in congress for funding for Ukraine through supplemental."

• With the threat of a US government shutdown now averted until mid-January, Congress can address President Biden’s USD$106 billion national security supplemental funding request. But the package is tied to complex negotiations over border policy in the Senate and has an unclear future in the House.
• The Washington Post reported today that the group of Senators negotiating the border security deal may be inching closer to a breakthrough but, “the calculus is simple: border security is extremely popular among Republican voters, while Ukraine aid is not.”
• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), has given no indication that Ukraine supplemental funding will be brought to the floor for a vote, and with Republican opposition to additional Ukraine aid increasing, it is unlikely Johnson has sufficient political capital to convince conservatives to back Ukraine legislation, especially considering the acrimonious conservative response to Johnson's bill to prevent a government shutdown.