A FRAGILE CONSENSUS

US Aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan is a victory for Biden. But Ukraine remains cause for divisions in foreign policy

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR a military assistance package worth $94 billion was approved in Washington last week. The assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan marks a major political victory for US President Joe Biden — he called Wednesday a “good day for world peace” as he signed the Bill into law. For months, Biden struggled to get the Republicans, who have a thin majority in the House of Representatives, to support military aid to Ukraine amid Kyiv’s growing desperation to stabilise the front against Russia. The Republicans had no issue with aiding Israel and Taiwan, but a large section of them was dead set against greater support for Ukraine. Sections of the extreme right backed by Trump would not allow the Speaker of the House to bring the issue to vote. By persuading the Speaker, Mike Johnson, to recognise the gravity of the situation in Ukraine, the White House overcame that obstacle. Former President Donald Trump, distracted by his troubles in court, did not challenge the Administration on this issue and made it easy for Biden. But the divide within the Republican Party over Ukraine and Russian questions will continue.

The large section of the Republicans who voted against the assistance to Ukraine could demand the Speaker’s resignation. The battle over Ukraine reflects a deep divide over foreign policy issues in America. The US students protesting against US policy on Israel and the rapidly diminished popular empathy for Israel in its war against Gaza is another element of the breakdown. But the political class has closed ranks around the question of China and there is strong support for containing Beijing’s designs in the Indo-pacific. This is reflected not only in the aid package for Taiwan but also in the formal decision to ban the Chinese social media app, Tiktok — the app’s immense popularity among young voters prevented the move so far. However, Tiktok is all set to go to court to challenge the decision.

All this reveals the fragmented authority in the US — by constitutional design to limit the power of any branch of the state — and the difficulties it presents in building policy consensus on any issue. The political leadership has to constantly work hard to forge that consensus. It is also a useful reminder for the Indian elite, whose stakes in the engagement with the US have become very large, to pay attention to the complexity of US domestic politics and avoid jumping to hasty conclusions on the basis of the daily wrangling that goes on in Washington.