How Trump blocked US aid for Ukraine – to help his bid to beat Biden
The marathon overnight session in the Senate to pass a funding bill for Ukraine is a relief for Kyiv and for Europe.
It’s yet to pass the House of Representatives, though.
It may well not.
And the whole episode is indicative of an almighty American political mess with huge implications.
The real story isn’t that the US Senate has done its part in passing the spending bill for Ukraine.
Ukraine latest: Zelenskyy reacts to crucial US Senate vote
It’s actually about how we got to this point, and it is a story of raw, ugly politics.
It is about American leadership, and it is about the extent to which Donald Trump is already shaping global geo-politics.
It’s a tale that cuts to the heart of America’s political chaos, but it’s not altogether straightforward so bear with me…
‘Secure our own borders first’ – the Republican plan
Late last year, with America’s cyclical funding contribution for Ukraine in need of being renewed, a new proposed bill was sent from the White House down Pennsylvania Avenue to Congress for approval.
That’s where the problems began.
Joe Biden speaks about the aid package for Ukraine from White House. Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Republicans, with justified concerns about America’s domestic challenges, saw an opportunity.
Conservative America has huge worries about the Biden Administration’s immigration policy and the chaotic status of the country’s southern border with Mexico – which, incidentally, dwarf Europe’s immigration challenges.
And so, Republicans decided to predicate their support for the Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan spending bill on Biden and the Democrats doing something about America’s border-migration chaos.
The Republicans sold it as “why should we be helping Ukraine secure its own borders when our own are wide open”.
It’s an argument that resonates well in conservative parts of today’s America.
Mexico-US border. Pic: Reuters
The Democrats though saw it as an unacceptable conflation of two distinct challenges which put Ukraine’s victory against Russia, and European security, in peril.
Nevertheless, they faced it head on. Biden and the Democrats produced their most conservative policy ever for America’s southern border. It largely addressed the Republican concerns.
They were ready to put a broad “Southern border-Ukraine/Israel/Taiwan” package through Congress.
Here’s where the raw politics comes in.
Trump got what he wanted – and rejected it anyway
Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill rejected the Democrat domestic border proposals – the very proposals they had been calling for.
Why? Because Trump urged them to reject them. He even threatened that Republicans who voted for the border package would find their careers at an end.
Trump was the sole reason Republican lawmakers rejected Democrat domestic border proposals. Pic: Reuters
Trump and his allies recognised that a chaotic southern border helps him. If Biden sorted out the border, then he’d get the credit; it’s no longer a tool for Trump as he seeks to beat Biden in November’s election.
And so, with the overwhelming power he holds over conservative lawmakers in the lower house of Congress, he managed to block the southern border bill.
The whole package fell apart. Ukraine’s ability to defend itself and the security of America’s southern border were both in jeopardy and the victims of raw politics.
This prompted the Democrats to return to the original plan – not to conflate the domestic border with foreign spending.
So, they pushed through the Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan bill on its own.
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Today that passed the Senate – congress’s upper house – inhabited on the right by more traditional, less Trumpian Republicans.
The question now is what Trump’s foot-soldiers in the lower house will do.
Echoing into their lower chamber, the House of Representatives, from the Senate across the hall, are the words of the traditionalist titan of the Republican Party – and no fan of Donald Trump – Senator Mitt Romney:
“Now, I know that the shock jocks and online instigators have riled up many in the far reaches of my party. But if your position is being cheered by Vladimir Putin, it’s time to reconsider your position.”
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
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Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
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The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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