<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1666113136620,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1666113136620,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-00b6-db7d-abfd-7cb766d10000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_66021370", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1119420"} }); ","_id":"00000183-ec14-d2c9-a9e3-fe1ce2fc0001","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warned that Congress will likely intensify scrutiny over military aid to war-torn Ukraine if Republicans recapture the House.
While iterating his longstanding support for Ukraine, McCarthy argued that many Republicans in the House have been rankled by the lack of focus on domestic matters, such as raging inflation, and will likely question the prudence of high-dollar donations to a country half a world away.
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“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” McCarthy told Punchbowl News. “They just won’t do it.”
Since Russia first invaded its neighbor last February, most Republicans have joined their Democratic colleagues in backing several aid packages, including a $40 billion measure passed in May and a $12 billion provision passed last month.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, speaks during a GOP news conference on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, November 17, 2021Still, grumblings and defections among House Republicans have seemingly grown louder over recent weeks amid heightened fears of Russian President Vladimir Putin deploying nuclear firepower and with no end to the war in sight.
Some Republicans, such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and others, have called for more oversight over the aid. Conservative pundits such as Fox News’s Tucker Carlson have raised similar questions about U.S. efforts in Ukraine. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) echoed part of that sentiment.
“If we were in charge, there’d be more accountability to the money already,” Armstrong told the Washington Examiner. “The flip side of that is if there’s a way to take Vladimir Putin off the board without putting one U.S. soldier on the ground — that’s huge too.”
Republicans have been forecast to retake the lower chamber in the midterm elections by multiple analyses, including those of FiveThirtyEight.
McCarthy also appeared to insinuate aid to Ukraine could serve as leverage to prod the Biden administration into addressing other pressing issues, including the mass influx of immigrants at the southern border.
“People begin to weigh that,” McCarthy added. “Ukraine is important, but at the same time, it can’t be the only thing they do, and it can’t be a blank check.”
Armstrong argued that Republicans are likely to intensify scrutiny over aid to Ukraine because of pressure from voters.
“The reason you might hear from Republicans [is] because we’re hearing it in our district,” he added. “If you’re a border community and nothing’s going … there — you and I know these decisions aren’t necessarily binary — but it’s frustrating.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) also appeared to back McCarthy’s “blank check” remarks, arguing that giving aid to Ukraine has been a “good investment,” but it “can’t be endless.”
“McCarthy’s comments reflect a concern that is well known. Even steadfast supporters of Ukraine like myself have limits,” he told the Washington Examiner. “Republicans are likely to demand far greater accountability and transparency and ask the very reasonable questions: ‘Why can’t we also focus on our own border security? Why can’t we prioritize both? Will our Western European allies step in with greater investments?’”
Other Republicans were eager to emphasize that the GOP will stand committed to Ukraine.
“I believe it is in our national security interest for Ukraine to maintain its independence. If Russia prevails, it will cost us more in blood and treasure in long run,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told the Washington Examiner. “We do want to make sure that other countries are pulling their weight and that we have people at our Kyiv embassy helping track our weapons deliveries.”
One of the foremost foreign policy voices in the GOP House caucus, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasized that McCarthy’s comments did not mean aid to Ukraine would get slashed.
“I think he’s just saying we’re not going to write a blank check without oversight and accountability, which my committee will be providing,” McCaul told Bloomberg News.
“I think there’s still broad bipartisan support for the effort,” he added. “We want to ensure that our NATO partners are stepping up to the plate and bearing the burden of the cost.”
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Meanwhile, the aspiring House speaker also told Punchbowl News that the GOP will take a rejuvenated approach to reining in government spending more broadly if it recaptures the House. He suggested Republicans could leverage the nation’s debt ceiling to further that goal, foreshadowing a future government shutdown flashpoint.
