House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy warned Tuesday that Republicans will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine if they win back the House majority.
“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. … It’s not a free blank check.”
Since Russia launched its invasion in February, Congress has approved tens of billions in emergency security and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, while the Biden administration has shipped billions worth of weapons and equipment from military inventories.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sidestepped Tuesday afternoon when asked about McCarthy’s comments. She instead thanked congressional leaders for bipartisan work to “support Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s war crimes and atrocities.”
“We will continue to work with Congress and continue to monitor those conversations on these efforts and support Ukraine as long as it takes,” she said, The Associated Press reported.
“We are going to keep that promise that we’re making to the brave Ukrainians who are fighting every day, to fight for their freedom and their democracy.”
Last month, lawmakers approved about $12.3 billion in Ukraine-related aid as part of a bill that finances the federal government through Dec. 16. The money included aid for the Ukrainian military as well as money to help the country’s government provide basic services to its citizens.
That comes on top of more than $50 billion provided in two previous bills.
Financial support for Ukraine garnered strong bipartisan support in the Senate and the House after Russia’s invasion in the spring. In the Senate, GOP leader Mitch McConnell and Richard Shelby, the lead Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, were early and consistent voices for Ukraine aid. But conservative opposition was present from the start. Republicans accounted for the only votes against a $40 billion aid package in the spring.
Nearly 60 House members and 11 senators opposed the legislation, citing the need for more oversight of how the money is spent and what weapons and equipment the U.S. is sending overseas.
