WASHINGTON – The firing of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday has cast doubt on future US funding for Ukraine, as the two lawmakers vying to replace him have different views on supporting the war-torn European country’s defense.
During his speech, McCarthy supported Ukraine, called Russian aggression a national security issue and worked with the Biden administration to ensure funding could continue.
But with the future leadership of the House now completely unclear, defense officials told The Post that there are internal concerns about what the new speaker means to continue aid — while Biden himself acknowledged Wednesday that McCarthy’s loss could affect future bills.
“It worries me,” Biden told reporters.
“But I know there is a majority of members of the House and Senate, in both parties, who say they support funding Ukraine.”
The ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday has cast doubt on future US funding for Ukraine.AP
Where they stand
Although House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) has a strong record of voting in favor of sending Kyiv the vital military aid they need to repel Russian invaders, his opponent, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), has been vocal about his displeasure with such spending.
Jordan has voted against almost all Ukrainian support bills, although he agreed to an early 2022 lend-lease measure to allow the Biden administration more flexibility to provide Kyiv security assistance — as long as Ukraine returns the equipment or pays to lease it.
On Tuesday, Jordan told reporters that he would not support continued aid for Ukraine if he won the speaker’s gavel.
“The most pressing issue on the minds of the American people is not Ukraine,” he said as he left a Texas GOP delegation lunch where he asked for their votes. “It’s a border situation and it’s crime in the streets and everybody knows that,”
Scalise, however, has routinely voted to send additional security aid without strings, even as recently as last week when the House passed another bill approving $300 million in aid — even though about half of his fellow Republicans voted “no.” .
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan, who is vying to replace McCarthy, has a very different view of supporting the defense of the war-torn European nation.Getty Images
Despite Scalise’s voting record, however, the conservative group “Defending Democracy Together” gave the majority leader only a “B” on the “Republicans for Ukraine” report card, citing his “neutral or ambiguous statements” about continued US support.
But that was far better than the “F” or “very poor” rating the group gave Jordan for supporting Kyiv, adding that he had made “anti-Ukrainian comments.”
An uncertain future
Although Scalise and Jordan remain the only two congressmen to officially announce they are seeking the gavel, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) has also been floated as a potential compromise candidate.
On Tuesday, he joined two declared candidates at a Texas Republican luncheon as he made the rounds offering himself as an alternative.
“We do the same thing over and over again and expect different results, where leadership continues to rise through the ranks,” he told reporters.
During his speech, McCarthy supported Ukraine, called Russian aggression a national security issue and worked with the Biden administration to ensure funding could continue.AP
“People ask me about seeing [being an] alternative options, so I will talk about this issue with other groups of people and see if their votes are there.”
Like Jordan, Hern also received an “F” on the Republican report card for Ukraine thanks to their similar voting record on Ukraine funding, but appears open to discussing the need for continued support with Biden should he be appointed speaker.
“I think the commander-in-chief should sit in private and tell those who are not supportive [aid] for the same reason time and time again, we want to know where the American taxpayer dollars go, and what is the end of it?” he said.
“There’s no reason why the president of the United States … can’t sit down in private and tell all members of his strategy,” he added.
With the next speaker uncertain, members of Congress are left questioning what will happen when Biden in August asks them to approve an additional $20.6 billion to support Ukraine in its war against Russia, which Kyiv supporters in both political parties hope can become law as part of next year’s spending bill.
Meanwhile, public support for continuing US efforts to support Ukraine has declined slightly compared to last year, according to a recent survey and report by the nonpartisan Chicago Council on Global Affairs think tank.
A majority of Americans favor Ukraine, with 63% of respondents saying they support providing additional weapons and military supplies to the country’s forces – down from 65% last year.
Those numbers are similar to a June Reagan Institute poll on national security issues that found 59% of Americans believe Washington should continue to provide additional weapons and support.
With the House’s future leadership now unclear at best, defense officials told The Post that there are internal concerns about the new speaker’s intentions to continue helping.ZUMAPRESS.com
McCarthy’s legacy
While the leadership upheaval has left Ukraine’s supporters increasingly challenged, McCarthy is far from a sure bet to continue the aid.
Last month, he denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request to speak at a joint meeting of Congress while in Washington to gain more support for continued American support.
McCarthy also failed to secure Ukraine aid funding in Saturday’s continuing resolution to avert a partial federal shutdown, as he worried there wouldn’t be enough votes to keep the government’s lights on without dropping him from the measure.
In order to pass the CR, which would keep government funding levels where they were until November 17, he agreed to strip $6 billion in Ukrainian aid from the bill to pass it.
In the run-up to McCarthy’s ouster, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) used a misleading statement by Biden over the weekend to crucify the Californian for allegedly making a “secret deal” with the Democratic president to keep American dollars flowing to Ukraine.
While Scalise has a strong record of voting to send significant military aid to Kyiv, Jordan has been vocal about his distaste for such spending.REUTERS
“Just because Gaetz says something, don’t believe it’s true,” said the former speaker who is now fuming after his ouster Tuesday night.
“I haven’t heard him say one true thing yet.”
After signing a continuing resolution to keep the government funded, Biden on Sunday told reporters that he “just made [a deal] in Ukraine” with McCarthy, which was mistaken for a separate agreement from the CR presented for Biden’s signature.
Although the White House fueled speculation about the supposed deal after both press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Biden himself refused to explain what it meant, McCarthy denied that such a deal had been made.
“When we do stopgap measures, there are concerns [whether it had] portability of money [to divert funds for weapons for Ukraine]. I believe it happened, my staff believe it happened,” he explained.
Although Scalise and Jordan remain the only two congressmen to officially announce they are seeking the gavel, Rep. Kevin Hern has also been floated as a potential compromise candidate.AP
“What I said to the White House was, ‘If you think it’s not, I’ll fix it.'”
Before leaving the lectern, McCarthy warned that “what we are doing here [with Ukraine] is very important,” saying he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded after watching the Biden administration capitulate on Afghanistan.
“I support arming Ukraine,” the former speaker said.
“That doesn’t mean sending them cash, but arming them … I think the president failed here, because he didn’t tell the American public what the mission was. We have a lot of members who are Navy SEALs, who have been F-18 pilots, and they are disappointed.”
“They want to support [Ukraine]but they do not want to support endless war.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
