Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington D.C. on Thursday facing one of his biggest battles yet to convince skeptical House Republicans to keep approving U.S. aid.

The leader will hold talks on Capitol Hill and with President Joe Biden after Poland’s shock announcement that they would be axing their supply of weapons and as Russia rains down one of its most brutal missile campaigns in weeks.

Congress has already authorized more than $110 billion to Kyiv since Vladimir Putin‘s invasion, and some members of the GOP have warned the White House they will oppose Biden’s request to send another $24 billion.

The pressure is on the Ukrainian president, who will start his day on Capitol Hill where he met with House leaders and then with senators in the Old Senate Chamber, a rare privilege for world leaders. 

The entire Senate was there to greet him. 

He faced a cooler reception across the Capitol on the House side. 

Before his visit, Zelensky asked to deliver another joint address to Congress, as he did last December, Punchbowl News reported, but Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied the request.

‘Zelensky asked us for a Joint Session and we just didn’t have time,’ McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday  morning. 

Zelensky met the speaker, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and other committee chairs and ranking members on the first floor of the Capitol. 

McCarthy, notably, didn’t come out to greet the Ukrainian leaders. Jeffries met Zelensky at the Capitol entrance and walked him to the meeting site. 

After the meeting, McCarthy said he remains non committal about the $24 billion aid package but said Zelensky answered many of lawmakers’ questions on the status of the war. 

Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul said Zelensky told lawmakers ‘he´s winning’ the war.

He said Zelensky told them he needs air cover and long-range artillery for his soldiers.  

Zelensky is making his plea for support as Ukraine’s neighbor, Poland, announced it will no longer provide weapons to Kyiv. 

‘We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine, because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons,’ Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.

Tensions between Warsaw and Kyiv, sparked by Poland’s ban on Ukrainian grain imports to protect the interests of its farmers, have intensified in recent days. 

Poland was one Ukraine’s earliest and staunchest allies after Russia invaded. It has taken in over a million refugees and been Kyiv’s biggest supplier of weapons.

In the US, Zelensky’s focus is on House Republicans, who have made clear they oppose more funding for the Ukraine. 

McCarthy’s stop-gap resolution to keep the government running while lawmakers negotiate a full budget deal lacks any funding for Kyiv. 

And now 29 GOP lawmakers wrote to the Biden’s budget chief to express their concerns about how much has already been given to the Ukraine – $100 billion – and to complain the Biden administration  supports an ‘open-ended commitment’ to the country.

They argue Americans need more information on the war effort.

‘How is the counteroffensive going? Are the Ukrainians any closer to victory than they were 6 months ago? What is our strategy, and what is the president’s exit plan?’ they write.  

McCarthy has made similar comments.

‘Was Zelensky elected to Congress? Is he our president? I don’t think so. I have questions for where’s the accountability on the money we’ve already spent? What is this the plan for victory?’ he said to reporters on Capitol Hill earlier this week.

But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell does support funding Ukraine’s war effort although some conservatives in the upper chamber think the U.S. has done enough to help Kyiv.

McConnell, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, escorted Zelensky into his meeting with senators.  

The Biden administration continues to push for more funding. Zelensky will cap off his visit to Washington with a meeting in the Oval Office. 

Zelensky’s visit comes at a ‘critical time, as Russia is reaching out’ to countries like North Korea and Iran, White House spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday. 

Biden can get a ‘battlefield perspective,’ when he meets with Zelensky in the Oval Office, Kirby noted.

While Zelensky was out of the country, Russia upped its aerial campaign, damaging energy facilities and causing power outages in several region.

Moscow targeted Lviv in the west, near the border with Poland, and Kharkiv, close to Ukraine’s eastern front lines, as well as Kyiv, Cherkasy and Rivne. 

Zelensky arrives in Washington after addressing the UN General Assembly as part of the body’s annual meeting.

He also addressed the U.N. Security Council, where he got tough, accusing it of inaction on Russia’s invasion of his country.

‘Most of the world recognizes the truth about this war,’ Zelensky said.

‘We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matters of aggression,’ he noted.

Congress has been warned to be on high alert for Chinese spies after a suspected Beijing espionage plot was uncovered in British parliament.

Earlier this week, a parliamentary researcher with links to MPs with classified information was arrested for ‘spying for China.’ 

The suspect is thought to be linked to numerous Conservative members of Parliament – including Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns.

According to reports, several of the members with links to the suspected spy are ‘privy to classified or highly sensitive information’, however none have been accused of wrongdoing.

The suspect, who was arrested under the Official Secrets Act, has not been charged, and has said he is ‘completely innocent.’ He has not been named by police. 

The suspected breach sparked a Metropolitan Police investigation and led to MI5 warning more operatives could be working in the highest levels of British democracy. Now the United States has been warned it could be a target.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Communist Party, told DailyMail.com that educating members of Congress about the threat of infiltration is critical – especially in light of the recent UK incident.

‘One thing we’re trying to do here on the Select Committee is to educate people -members and staff- about the nature of not only traditional CCP espionage but United Front work,’ he said. 

‘I think United Front work is a poorly understood phenomenon. I don’t think your average member understands what it is. The more we can educate members about this phenomenon, the better they can defend themselves.’

The United Front is the political strategy utilized by the CCP to advance China’s influence and power globally through a variety of methods, including by deploying spies to try to change policies of foreign nations to be more pro-China or gain sensitive information. 

Congress has be infiltrated by Chinese spies attempting to get access to classified information in recent years. 

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, known as ‘Fang Fang,’ sparked an Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct.

The committee ended up not taking any disciplinary action against Swalwell, but issued a letter warning lawmakers about the threat of foreign infiltration.

‘Members should be conscious of the possibility that foreign governments may attempt to secure improper influence through gifts and other interactions,’ the letter stated.

Fang Fang left China to go to college in the U.S. in 2011, and then worked on developing relationships with key lawmakers, including Swalwell, in order to get access to sensitive information. 

She reportedly raised money for his 2014 campaign and attended a number of events that the congressman attended.

The FBI, who was investigating Fang Fang, first brought their concerns to the congressman in 2015. At that point, Swalwell said he broke off any contact with the suspected spy.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy kicked Swalwell off of the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year due to his Fang Fang connection.

But Swalwell isn’t the only lawmaker who has fallen for the ploy.

A former aide to Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., who worked as her driver in California for 20 years was found to have ties to the CCP.

Feinstein was chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time. 

She insisted that the spy ‘never had access to classified or sensitive information or legislative matters’ and was let go after the FBI informed her that her office was infiltrated.

Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., put the two Democrats on blast for falling for China’s ‘sophisticated’ spy network.

‘Communist China has a sophisticated and enormous global spy network that has already breached the highest levels of government like in the cases of Senator Feinstein’s aide or the targeting of Congressman Swalwell,’ said Waltz.

Waltz said he met with Canadian member of Parliament Michael Chong who has also been targeted by the Chinese. 

‘We’ll continue to press the intelligence community on their operations to combat these espionage efforts and safeguard members of Congress.’

Waltz sits on the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees. 

Experts say that it is easier for Chinese spies to get access to American secrets through U.S. lawmakers than most think.

Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society think tank in the UK, told Dailymail.com that Chinese spy infiltration in Congress ‘could easily happen in the U.S.’ because ‘nobody had really understood it could happen in such a spectacular way here.

‘Who’s to say there aren’t people the U.S. and other Western democracies who have been turned, and who may well be involved in Chinese influence operations or spying for China.’

‘It’s similar to what the Russians used to do, sending proper spies who were not obviously connected to the regime,’ Mendoza continued.

‘It seems unlikely China isn’t going to do that.’

He urged Congress to be ‘more alert’ to the ‘dangers’ of Chinese efforts and treat it on the same level as Russia.

‘It’s difficult to stop someone completely disconnected and able to cover their tracks.’

Mendoza said politicians should look closely at the backgrounds of people they are hiring.

‘If you have spent a considerable amount of time in China that should be a red flag that should mean you dig into someone’s background.

‘An incident like tis reminds us to be vigilant and double down on our processes.

‘We don’t want to be alarmist and have a reds under the beds McCarthyite position (but) sometimes we are not alert to obvious signs.’

There are a limited number of legislative days left for Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill or the government will plunge into a shutdown.

An easy deal isn’t likely amid GOP infighting about sending more aid to Ukraine and regarding timing for opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which is poised to derail negotiations.

There are 12 annual government spending bills that must be passed by both the House and Senate before funding runs out at midnight on Sept. 30. 

However, to give lawmakers more time to push through the longer term 2024 spending bills, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is working on pushing a stopgap measure known as a ‘continuing resolution’ likely through the end of November or early December to stave off a shutdown. 

The CR is supported by Senate Leader Chuck Schumer who called it the way to ‘work this out,’ last month.

But there are only a total of 11 legislative days left on the calendar for Congress to pass the stopgap bill to keep the government temporarily funded. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week in Kentucky that he believes there will be a ‘short-term congressional resolution’ that will likely go into December ‘as we struggle to figure out exactly what the government’s spending level is going to be.’ 

A bill funding military construction and Veterans Affairs projects passed the House before the body left for a month-long hiatus, leaving 11 more bills to move along. 

All spending bills originate in the House and then are moved over to the Senate. 

House lawmakers are returning from their August recess on Tuesday and are expected to first take up the massive $886 billion defense spending bill. 

The issue of sending more aid to Ukraine will be at the center of negotiations.

President Biden has requested Congress approve an additional $40 billion – including $13 billion in emergency defense aid, $8 billion for humanitarian aid to Ukraine, $12 billion in disaster relief and $4 billion for the border to combat fentanyl smuggling.

The White House is urging Congress to pass the stopgap measure in order to avoid a shutdown while negotiations on passing the larger 12 longer term spending bills continue. 

But Ukraine aid is a sticking point that is shaking up the process. 

McCarthy has reportedly indicated that the House will attach disaster aid to the stopgap bill, but will not include additional funding for Ukraine.

However, the Senate has strong bipartisan support for sending more funds to the war torn country, and is likely to put pressure on the House to include more aid.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Punchbowl News this week that he ‘understands’ that McCarthy needs to pass a bill, but the Senate will send back any piece of legislation without Ukraine aid.

‘We’re going to have to work that out,’ the Senate leader said this week. 

In addition, the House Freedom Caucus members said in August that they will oppose any spending bill that gives Ukraine a ‘blank check’ in U.S. taxpayer-funded aid.

They say they will also vote against a measure that doesn’t include provisions to address DOJ ‘weaponization’ and targeting of political opponents and the Pentagon’s ‘woke policies.’

And they want major billion dollar cuts to the appropriations bills because they are still disgruntled at the debt ceiling bill, which did not curb spending to their satisfaction.

McCarthy cannot afford to lose more than four votes from Republicans in his slim GOP majority, so he must strike a deal with the Freedom Caucus, which isn’t afraid to shut down the government.

Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, is stepping down from Congress at the end of the week to due to family concerns. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is battling bone cancer and not expected to return to the Hill for a few months. In addition, Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., had hip surgery recently and Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is dealing with a handful of legal issues. 

Even if the government shuts down, around 85 percent will still be in operation. For the employees not considered ‘essential,’ they will be paid once the government reopens. 

The longest shutdown – lasting over a month – occurred during Trump’s presidency due to disagreement on border wall funding.  

Another issue at play is some farther right House conservatives that say they will not support any government funding measure without an impeachment inquiry into President Biden and his connections to his family’s business dealings.

That is ruffling the feathers of more moderate Republicans who say they shouldn’t be tied together.

‘They’re totally separate issues and should be considered separately,’ said Rep. Bob Good of Virginia this week.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has threatened to remove McCarthy from his speakership position if an impeachment inquiry into Biden isn’t launched. 

The lawmaker urged his GOP colleagues to ‘seize the initiative’ in investigating the 80-year-old president when they return to Washington next week.

He also said McCarthy ‘may not have the job long’ if he ‘stands in the way’ of pushing for a Congressional trial into Biden’s links to his son Hunter’s foreign business deals.

Firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also promised to vote against funding the government if impeaching proceedings had not begun.

And House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said last week that an impeachment inquiry is ‘imminent.’ 

McCarthy has said an impeachment inquiry into Joe’s connections to Hunter’s foreign dealings is on the table.

He said if the Biden administration continue to ‘withhold’ documents, Republicans will ‘move forward with impeachment inquiry when we come back into session.’

The White House has rejected every suggestion Joe was involved in his son Hunter’s business deals and insists the Biden impeachment push is politically motivated. 

But a new poll released this week showed that 61 percent of Americans believe then-Vice President Joe was involved at some level in his son’s dealings. 

Trump advisor Peter Navarro found GUILTY of contempt of Congress for defying January 6 subpoena

• Navarro now faces up to one year in prison for refusing to cooperate with the congressional subpoena 
• U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that executive privilege argument did not apply to Navarro
• ‘I am willing to go to prison to settle this issue,’ Navarro said outside the courthouse Thursday

By Kelly Laco, Executive Editor Of Politics For Dailymail.Com and Associated Press

Published: 16:18 EDT, 7 September 2023 | Updated: 18:11 EDT, 7 September 2023

Trump advisor Peter Navarro found guilty of contempt of Congress

By Kelly Laco, Executive Editor Of Politics For Dailymail.Com And Associated Press

Published: 10:04 EDT, 8 September 2023 | Updated: 10:34 EDT, 8 September 2023

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A Democrat Chicago treasurer who has her sights set on Congress has been accused of forcing taxpayer-funded staff to plan her daughter’s birthday and act as her personal bodyguard. 

The city’s treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who was elected in May 2019, was accused of running a corrupt office and illegally firing two employees who raised concerns about her alleged misdeeds.   

In an letter from December 2020 that was only just unsealed and published by the Chicago Tribune, the public official is accused of having a ‘disturbing conduct’ and using ‘pervasive practices’ for her own benefit. 

Conyears-Ervin allegedly threatened staff, telling them they: ‘Should not care if her plans are illegal since the only way they could lose their jobs is if she fires them.’ 

The ordeal that triggered the accusations was the firing of two of her top aides under the alleged guise of an ‘office shake-up’ in November 2020.

Tiffany Harper and Ashley Evans alleged their firings ‘violated the Illinois whistleblower act, federal laws, and a city ordinance.’ 

Before they were fired, the letter claimed Conyears-Ervin told the women if they refused to implement her plans their ‘asses can walk’ and that they ‘will be walking the f*** up out of here.’

Conyears-Ervin believed ‘this is (her) f***ing office and (her) vision,’ the blistering letter from 2020 alleged. 

They sent the letter to the city’s Board of Ethics demanding reinstatement. They were eventually given a $100,000 settlement to share in 2021. 

The scathing letter, written by their attorney Michael Kanovitz, claimed Conyears-Ervin only sacked his clients out of retaliation.

It read: ‘The retaliation is clear, as is the corruption in the Treasurer’s office. The inference of retaliation is inescapable.’ 

One of the misconducts Conyears-Ervin is accused of is the hiring of Gina Zuccaro. 

Zuccaro, who is her political ally, was hired to be an administrative assistant. 

She organized her daughter’s birthday party and did her grocery shopping on the taxpayer’s dime, the letter claims. 

The letter states: ‘The Treasurer uses her for personal services like running errands, planning her daughter’s birthday party, grocery shopping and the like. 

‘The Treasurer also used City resources to support Ms. Zuccaro’s run for the and Illinois House of Representatives seat by allowing her to campaign on City time. 

‘This misuse of hiring to obtain personal services and favor her allies is a pervasive problem, extending well past these two employees to numerous other employees and contractors.’

The letter continued: ‘Treasurer Conyears-Ervin engaged in a pattern of disturbing conduct against the public trust, many of which violated the City of Chicago ethics rules as well as state and federal law. 

‘Her consistent and pervasive practice has been to misuse City money, City employees and City resources to benefit her private interests as well as those of her friends and campaign supporters.’

Conyears-Ervin also decided to hire an ex-Chicago police officer as her private security guard and driver – which was also a point of contention for the former staffers. 

The letter continued: ‘After losing a public battle with the Mayor on this issue, the Treasurer hired an ex-CPD officer to fill the opening of Assistant to City Treasurer, a job that requires financial training and experience which the candidate was utterly lacking.

‘This employee does not provide any services to the office and does not even come into the office. 

‘Rather he serves as a private armed security guard to the Treasurer and is her driver.’

As well as this, the treasurer was accused of using city money and resources to ‘advance the agenda of several churches and other religious organizations, many of which support her and her husband.’ 

Conyears-Ervin declined to address any of the specific allegations in the letter, but said last week in a statement given to the Tribune: ‘While I am not allowed to discuss the specifics of this settlement, I will make a general statement as I take these matters seriously.

‘I have never, nor will I ever abuse or misuse taxpayer dollars and breach the public trust. I treat my responsibility to the citizens and taxpayers with the utmost respect.’

Nikki Haley, 51, feels it’s vital to evaluate elderly lawmakers’ mental competency, but suggested she is open to making it a requirement for all of Congress so there’s no discrimination on who gets checked.

The GOP candidate’s proposal for a mentally competency test in Congress comes after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 81, froze-up during a press conference last week for the second time in just a month.

It also isn’t the first time Haley has suggested putting limitations on those who can serve in federal office. Earlier this year, the Trump-era UN Ambassador said the age limit for someone to run for president should be cut-off at 75.

‘I think there should be mental competency tests,’ Haley told NBC’s Face the Nation on Sunday morning, adding that it should be done even if it’s ‘for the entire Congress.’

‘These are basic tests. These are – tell us where you were born, name four words that start with the same letter, how many grandchildren do you have?’ she listed in assuring the exams are easy and will assure mental capacity to serve in office.

‘When a candidate files to run for office – incumbent or newcomer – they have to give their financial disclosures,’ Haley added. ‘They should also give a notice from the doctor that tells about their mental capacity. I think that we need that.’

Haley has faced criticism from Trump world for her age limit of 75, claiming that she was specifically targeting the ex-President with that limitation. But on Sunday, she said that there needs to be some standard put in place, and said that could even be at the age of 50.

Haley’s proposals come as the top ages in the top tiers of the federal government continue to rise.

President Joe Biden, 80, is the oldest person ever elected President. Donald Trump is 77, meaning that if either Biden or Trump wins in 2024, they will set yet another record for the oldest-ever president.

The Senate is run by the 81-year-old minority leader and 72-year-old Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Up until the 2022 midterms, the House was run by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is now 83.

McConnell’s age and health scares have gained new scrutiny after he froze for 30 seconds during a press conference in Kentucky on Wednesday. It came just a month after an eerily similar incident when speaking with reporters at the Capitol in late July. Colleagues helped lead him away from the podium and back to his office.

Both freeze-ups came just months after McConnell fell at the Washington D.C. Waldorf Astoria, once the Trump Hotel. He suffered a concussion and broken ribs. It took six weeks for his recovery.

Capitol Physician Dr. Brian Monahan immediately cleared McConnell for normal work the day after the latest freeze.

The doctor said it’s normal to experience lightheadedness in concussion recovery. He also said the episode could be attributed to dehydration.

Sen. Mike Rounds told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that he spoke with McConnell the day prior and he’s in ‘good shape.’

Rounds relayed what McConnell told him: ‘I had that concussion. They warned me that I would be lightheaded in the future and that I have got to be aware of it. It happened twice. It just so happens I’m doing it in front of reporters.’

‘He felt good yesterday,’ Rounds added of the GOP Senate leader. ‘He said he’s got to watch his hydration levels. Dr. Monahan, who is also my physician there at the Senate, he’s sharp… and if he says that Mitch is ready to go, then Mitch is ready to go.’

McConnell’s freeze comes as 90-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) also faces immense criticism for her continued health issues and her advanced age.

Voters are also concerned about President Biden’s age, with a new poll last week showing 77 percent of Americans think he is too old to serve another four-year term.

‘We can’t stand watching Dianne Feinstein sit there and be told by an aide how she should vote,’ Haley told NBC’s Robert Costa. ‘We can’t worry about Mitch McConnell being frozen at a podium. We can’t have Joe Biden forget where he is.’

‘Our enemies are watching all of this,’ she added. ‘And every time they have an instance like that, America is less safe because our enemies think we are out of control – and that has got to stop.’

Biden urges Congress to avoid a government shutdown with a short-team deal that includes $1.4 BILLION in food aid for low-income families

• Government will shutdown at end of September without a funding resolution
• Short-term funding measure would give the two parties more time to negotiate
• New poll shows 90% of Americans do not want a shutdown 

By Emily Goodin, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Updated: 12:50 EDT, 31 August 2023

Biden asks Congress for $40 billion in extra funds

By Morgan Phillips, Politics Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 11:40 EDT, 11 August 2023 | Updated: 11:40 EDT, 11 August 2023

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Biden asks Congress for $40 BILLION in extra funds – including an extra $13 BILLION for Ukraine – teeing up potential showdown with Congress

• The total $40 billion request includes $13 billion in emergency defense aid and wildfire pay and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support of Ukraine
• Also includes $12B for disaster relief after a season of heat and storms, as well as $4B for the border and to combat fentanyl to attract Republicans to the deal

By Morgan Phillips, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 18:17 EDT, 10 August 2023 | Updated: 18:22 EDT, 10 August 2023