Britain’s former Prime Minister, David Cameron, leaves 10, Downing Street after being appointed Foreign Secretary in a Cabinet reshuffle on Nov. 13, 2023, in London. (Carl Court, Getty Images/TNS)
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — British Foreign Secretary David Cameron flew to Florida to meet Donald Trump, as the UK tries to get the Republican presidential candidate’s allies in the House of Representatives to support further military aid for Ukraine.
Cameron’s meeting with Trump came at the start of a trip to Washington in which the former Conservative prime minister is expected to meet with Republican lawmakers, as well as Biden administration officials. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has so far declined to call a vote on new security funding, including some $60 billion of aid for Ukraine to fight back against Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian forces are wrestling with increasingly severe ammunition shortages and delays in supplies of artillery shells from allies — especially the U.S. — have left Ukraine’s forces outgunned by as much as six to one. Trump, who’s facing an electoral rematch against President Joe Biden in November, has long expressed skepticism about providing military support to Ukraine, and has suggested giving the country loans instead of direct funding.
The UK, which has been another leading military backer of Ukraine, argues that U.S. aid is vital to the country’s ability to continue to resist Russian forces.
“Speaker Johnson can make it happen in Congress,” Cameron said in a video on X ahead of the trip, adding that he would tell the Republican House leader, “‘We need that money, Ukraine needs that money.’”
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