Fears of a possible shutdown are growing in the United States, as there is very little time left before the expiration of the temporary agreements on the budgetary funding of government structures, and politicians have less and less opportunities to overcome differences every day, writes The Hill.
Leaders of both parties are hastily trying to come to an agreement, but one of the potential landmines in the debate between Republicans and Democrats is the issue of aid to Kyiv.
Congressmen will return to Washington next week and face two looming budget funding : March 1 for just a handful of agencies and March 8 for all other agencies. As a result, legislators have little time to resolve their differences and submit draft laws for further consideration by government structures.
Speaker Mike Johnson has made nimble moves to avoid government shutdowns since taking office last October, but hard-line conservative Republicans are losing patience with his willingness to strike budget deals with Democrats.
Some observers on Capitol Hill are already warning that the current infighting in the US Congress poses the greatest threat to a shutdown.
"I am concerned," said one of the Republican aides in the US . - I think that of all the fears that we faced after the end of the last financial year, this one will be the most terrible. I think it can hurt us a lot."
However, one of the potential landmines in the debate was the question of sending additional aid to Ukraine, which has been troubling American lawmakers, especially Johnson, for several months.
