Will the US midterm elections affect Biden's foreign policy?
If Republicans gain a majority in either the House or the Senate in the US midterm elections on November 8, as polls suggest, President Joe Biden's foreign policy is likely to plunge into turmoil, but Ukraine's support does not appear to be affected.
When US House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy warned last week that his party would not "write a blank check to Ukraine" if it wins the election, US allies expressed concern.
Republicans have said they will use their powers to monitor the Biden administration's role on issues ranging from immigration to the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
But if there is one topic that threatens Republican unity, however eager they may be to follow up on success in November with a victory in the 2024 presidential election, it is the war in Ukraine.
Donald Trump broke US diplomatic traditions when he expressed his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the first impeachment proceedings against the former Republican president began because of his decision to freeze the payment of military aid to Kiev.
Some pro-Trump Republicans have criticized the military aid to Ukraine, which includes an initial $40 billion package approved in May by a large bipartisan majority, as well as an $11.2 billion package yet to be approved.
Pro-Trump Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene accused the US president of sending "dollars earned by American taxpayers" to help a foreign country "wage a war that they have no chance of winning."
However, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell pledged to help Ukraine more than Biden and "ship" weapons to Kyiv, including missiles capable of reaching Russian territory.
Mike Pence, who was Donald Trump's deputy when he was in the White House, rebuked Republicans opposed to aid to Ukraine, saying, "There can be no place within the conservative movement for the defenders of Putin. There is no place in this movement except for the defenders of freedom."
According to a new poll conducted by the Chicago Council on International Affairs, a large majority of Americans agree with support for Ukraine and two-thirds of Republicans support sending arms to Kiev.
Colin Dweck, a non-resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argues that Kevin McCarthy's comments were intended to bring together the various factions of the party.
"Some think that the average Republican in Central America is against that, which is wrong," he says, adding, "I also think there is a minority that is not in favor, so trying to manage these differences will not be easy."
"It would be unwise to expect the House of Representatives, which has a republican majority, to turn against Ukraine," he continues.
On the part of the Democrats, a large part of them supported Biden's policy, but some leftists in the party are concerned about the risk of escalation between Russia and NATO.
In a letter issued Monday, some 30 progressive lawmakers called on the US president to "make active diplomatic efforts in support of a negotiated settlement, ceasefire, and direct talks with Russia."
But on Tuesday, those elected officials withdrew the letter, lamenting that their initiative gave the impression of an "alliance" with some elected Republicans.
Even with bipartisan agreement on the outlines, some elected officials may complicate Joe Biden's life.
When Barack Obama was president, Republicans criticized his administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the 2012 attack on American diplomats in Benghazi that left four dead, including the American ambassador.
Clinton's most prominent critic was Mike Pompeo, a shadowy Kansas congressman who was later named CIA chief and then Donald Trump's secretary of state.
And a research fellow at the Middle East Institute, Brian Katulis, believes that Republicans are able to exploit files such as the case of the FBI's investigation into the work of the current president's son, Hunter Biden, in order to pressure the Biden government.
But he considers it difficult to predict the direction that the Republicans will adopt in terms of foreign policy, because the positions expressed by the conservatives "go in all directions."
"On some issues, including national security, Republicans can even change their party's slogan, turning it from an elephant into a chameleon," he says.
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