President Joe Biden will host Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the White House next month, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Thursday.
The announcement comes as the future of additional U.S. aid to Ukraine hangs in the balance, hinging on a skeptical GOP House leadership as the country readies to enter its third year of war, as well as Donald Trump's recent comments suggesting he would tell Russia to attack delinquent NATO allies, which have sparked alarm across Europe.
During the meeting, which will take place on March 12, Jean-Pierre said the three leaders will discuss Ukraine, the upcoming NATO summit in Washington, the nations’ energy security partnership and their economic relationship.
“The leaders will reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s brutal war of conquest,” Jean-Pierre said.
The Senate on Tuesday passed a $95 billion package with aid to Ukraine, along with Israel, the Indo-Pacific and more, after a border deal – negotiated over weeks by a bipartisan group of senators and the White House – was dropped from the bill amid GOP opposition. Republicans had initially insisted Biden’s foreign aid request be tied to significant border policy changes.
The fate of additional U.S. aid to Ukraine now appears to rest on whether GOP leadership will bring the bill up for a vote in the lower chamber – where many Republicans are against sending more assistance to the country, arguing Washington must address its own problems at the border first, the U.S. cannot keep spending money on the war and the Biden administration has not laid out a clear plan as it how Ukraine wins and the conflict ends.
Biden earlier this week urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to put the package up for a vote “immediately,” making the case it will garner enough support from Democrats and Republicans combined to pass.
But Johnson has not committed to bringing it up for a vote, criticizing the package for not addressing the border -- despite killing a bipartisan Senate bill that included the foreign aid and substantial immigration reform, including funding to boost border security.
The U.S. announced what the White House said would be its last aid package to Ukraine without additional funding approved by Congress in December, as Biden administration officials and European leaders sound the alarm on what a lack of U.S. funding would mean for the war-torn country.
“This money will provide key capabilities to our Ukrainian counterparts as they continue to fight for their democracy and as they continue to face offensive operations by the Russians,” National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said in a video the White House posted on X on Thursday regarding the foreign aid package.
“Some of them are running out of ammunition and some of their commanders are making very difficult decisions about what they will or won’t shoot back in their own defense,” Kirby continued.
On Thursday, the foreign ministers of Poland and Britain made a direct appeal to the House and Johnson to put the Ukraine aid up for a vote.
The meeting will take place more than two weeks after the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden made the trip to Poland and, secretively, war-torn Ukraine for the first anniversary last year.
In the statement, Jean-Pierre also noted the event next month will coincide with the 25th anniversary of Poland joining NATO, which, she said, “underscores the United States’ and Poland’s shared ironclad commitment to the NATO Alliance, which makes us all safer.”
It comes as Biden has sought to highlight his predecessor and likely 2024 general election opponent, former President Donald Trump’s recent comments on the alliance after he said he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO member countries that do not contribute enough to military spending.
In remarks on Tuesday urging House passage of the foreign aid, Biden did not hold back on his feelings about the comment: “It's dumb, it's shameful, it's dangerous, it's un-American.”
Since then, Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign has sent emails about Trump doubling down on his NATO remarks, including one on Wednesday with the subject line “In Case Y’all Thought Trump Was Joking About NATO: He Is Not.”
Trump again said on Wednesday and Thursday that if he returns to the White House, he would not defend NATO members that don't meet defense spending targets, first at a campaign rally in South Carolina and then outside a Manhattan courtroom for a hearing for his Manhattan criminal case.
“Look, if they’re not going to pay, we’re not going to protect. OK?” he said Wednesday.
The U.S. is preparing to host this year's NATO summit in Washington in July. It will also mark the 75th anniversary of the alliance.
Spectrum News' Joseph Konig contributed to this report