Zelensky visits US amid aid uncertainty

Ukraine’s president is in the United States this week as President Biden pushes for $24 billion in additional aid to the country — an issue caught up in the broader government funding fight embroiling Congress.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech at the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York on Tuesday and is meeting with Biden and lawmakers on Thursday.

Biden also addressed the summit Tuesday, urging the international community to rally behind Ukraine. But support in the form of further funding is a contentious topic in Washington, particularly among Republicans.

While Senate Republicans have said they’re ready to add Ukraine funding to a continuing resolution (CR) to extend funding of the U.S. government beyond its Sept. 30 expiration date, House Republicans have drafted a bill  that doesn’t include money for Ukraine. (The fate of the House CR is anything but certain; more on that below.)  

From The Hill’s Alexander Bolton: “The Senate GOP isn’t sure about the path forward, and Republican leaders are softening predictions that the Senate will add money for the war in Ukraine to the stopgap since this would spark a battle with conservatives in both chambers.”

• Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told The Hill on Monday: “There are plenty of us who have grave reservations about what’s happening in Ukraine, and I will tell you the people who vote for us have really grave concerns about what’s happening in Ukraine.”
• Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas): “I don’t know what the plans are, but I certainly support supplemental funding [for Ukraine], but I’m agnostic at what point that needs to be done.” (Cornyn said last week he thought a “strong majority of senators on our side support Ukraine aid,” while acknowledging divisions.)
• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said he plans to ask Zelensky this week, “Where’s the accountability on the money we already spent?” and, “What is the plan for victory?”

The U.S. has so far approved around $113 billion to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

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• The House Oversight and Accountability Committee set the first hearing on the impeachment inquiry into President Biden for Sept. 28 and announced plans to subpoena his son Hunter Biden‘s bank records.

• A White House official said acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and senior adviser Gene Sperling will “continue their discussions from Washington and allow talks to move forward” between the United Auto Workers and “Big Three” automakers instead of traveling to Detroit as previously planned.

• Voters in Allegheny County, Pa., decide a special election today that will determine which party controls the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

House GOP leadership’s plan to hold a procedural vote allowing the newly hashed-out continuing resolution (CR) to move forward was derailed Tuesday, with the vote removed from the schedule.

• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters, “I’m just recircling it; we have people talking together.”
• The Hill’s Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks reported that many members were huddling in House Majority Whip Tom Emmer‘s (R-Minn.) office Tuesday.
• The Hill’s running whip list shows at least 12 GOP representatives have said they won’t support the CR — more than enough to deny passage.

Related: House conservatives sink vote on advancing Pentagon funding bill

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will join NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo for an interview at 8 p.m. ET tonight. 

Newsom has been prominent in the news cycle amid speculation he may run for president, which he’s repeatedly batted away.

• The governor recently defended President Biden against concerns around his age and said that, if Biden didn’t run in 2024, Vice President Harris would be next in line.
• Still, Newsom has raised his national profile lately, participating in several media appearances and publicly considering an in-person debate with Florida Gov.
  Ron DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate.

Both NewsNation and The Hill are owned by Nexstar Media Group.

©  The Hill illustration/Madeline Monroe, Getty, Adobe

The Hill’s Julia Mueller digs into the dynamics within the Texas Republican Party through the lens of state Attorney General Ken Paxton‘s (R) impeachment and acquittal, saying the event “exposed the deep divisions in the Lone Star State’s GOP, which may be difficult to mend long after news about the impeachment trial has faded.” Read Mueller’s report here.

The Biden administration is opening applications for $400 million in funding designed to help states and territories take up energy-efficient building codes. It’s part of the $1 billion allocated for this purpose in the Inflation Reduction Act.

A report from the World Health Organization found 1 in 3 adults have high blood pressure without symptoms and that nearly half of those with hypertension are unaware of it. “High systolic blood pressure is the world’s leading risk factor for mortality,” the report says. Read more here.

“Biden addresses a world skeptical of, yet desperately needing, US leadership” — Daniel Baer, senior vice president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe under President Obama. (Read here)

“The evangelical vote will decide the Iowa caucuses” — Timothy Head, the executive director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition. (Read here)

8 days until the next GOP presidential primary debate.

11 days until the government funding deadline.

President Biden participates in bilateral meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Brazilian President Lula da Silva.

10 a.m.: The House Judiciary Committee holds an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice, with scheduled testimony from Attorney General Merrick Garland.

There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: ALaTour@thehill.com