The White House accused Sen. Josh Hawley of "parroting" Russian propaganda after the Missouri Republican called for the United States to drop its longstanding support for Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Press secretary Jen Psaki made the statement Wednesday evening after Hawley sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calling for the changes. He claims that a pledge to defend Ukraine — which would become effective if the country were to join the military alliance — would distract the United States from China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
