The U.S. House of Representatives has removed Kevin McCarthy from the post of speaker of the lower house of Congress, BBC reports.
The result was obtained after a tense but lengthy roll call, during which each member was required to enter their choice into the record.
About 216 members, including eight Republicans, voted to remove the California congressman from the speaker’s chair.
Another 210 representatives, all Republicans, voted to retain McCarthy.
This is a huge victory for the rebellious faction of right-wing Republicans led by Matt Gaetz of Florida.
The US House of Representatives passed bill HR6930 on the allocation of assets subject to US sanctions for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the press service of the Congress reports.
“Specifically, within two years from the entry into force of this bill, the President (Joe Biden – IF) may seize such assets if (1) Russia continues to participate in the conflict of territorial seizures in Ukraine; (2) the President has imposed sanctions on the owner of the assets for reasons related to corruption, human rights violations, malicious influence or conflicts in Ukraine; and (3) the value of the assets exceeds $5 million,” the website says.
It is explained that “the seized assets can be liquidated and the funds received can only be used for certain purposes, including (1) post-conflict reconstruction of Ukraine, (2) humanitarian aid and refugee support for the Ukrainian people, (3) weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces ( …)”.
The law must be approved by the Senate and signed by the President of the United States to enter into force.
The House of Representatives of the US Congress passed a bill providing for the confiscation of Russian sanctioned assets.
According to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, he personally discussed the need for such an important step with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi during a recent visit to the United States.
“Thank you for this fair decision. The aggressor must pay for the destroyed property! The provisions of the document allow these funds to be used to restore Ukraine, provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians and other assistance to the state, including military,” the head of the Ukrainian government said.
He added that Canada is currently preparing a similar bill, which he also spoke about with Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland during his visit to the United States.
ASSISTANCE UKRAINE, BILL, RUSSIAN ASSETS RESTORATION, US CONGRESS
The US Congress has proposed to increase the amount of security assistance to Ukraine by $50 million, to $300 million, according to the draft US defense budget for 2022, prepared by the US Senate Committee on the Armed Services.
Oksana Markarova, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, said that the draft budget should be supported by both chambers of the US Congress.
“We are grateful to congressmen and senators for the proposal to increase the amount of security assistance to Ukraine up to $300 million in the US defense budget for 2022 (NDAA FY2022). We very much hope that the allocation of this amount will be agreed upon and approved by both chambers of the US Congress,” she wrote on Facebook on Friday.
The US Congress delegation chaired by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham arrived in Kyiv, where it will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Andriy Taran, the US Embassy in Kyiv told Interfax-Ukraine.
It is clarified that the delegation includes US Senators Lindsey Graham (republican, South Carolina), John Barrasso (republican, Wyoming), Ben Sasso (republican, Nebraska), Tommy Tuberville (republican, Alabama) and Congressman William Timmons (republican, South Carolina ).
The delegation is to meet with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Andriy Taran.
