House Republicans support sending aid to Ukraine as overhaul of U.S. border policy becomes more likely to fail, compromise on funding to Kyiv becomes more likely to fail is scrambling to find a way to pass it through Congress.
“There are a lot of people who are advocating for military aid because that’s what they really need,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “All that rebuilding stuff, we’ll talk about that later. They need weapons.”
Several Republican lawmakers believe a standalone Ukraine aid bill that focuses only on weapons and defense funding would be enough to pass the House and Senate, falling short of the roughly $60 billion President Biden is requesting. It suggests it may have bipartisan support.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly appealed to Congress for more aid. (Ukrainian Presidential Palace/Anadolu, via Getty Images)
Biden’s request to Ukraine is part of a $118 billion supplemental security funding deal put together by Senate and White House negotiators. The bill includes border reform and aid for Israel and Taiwan.
But funding for Ukraine, an issue confronting a growing number of Republican skeptics in Congress, is unlikely to be met by a bipartisan Senate agreement, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said. He is on “life support” and appears to be at risk of failure. That was at a press conference Tuesday morning.
The deal has gained support from Republicans since the document was released Sunday night, with even the chief negotiator expressing doubts about its success.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have twice tried to pass unilateral aid to Israel because of the war with Hamas.
From left: Congressman Don Bacon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Congressman Austin Scott. (Getty Images)
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“If Ukrainians don’t have the weapons they need to defend themselves, they will be conquered by Russia,” Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia told Fox News Digital. “That’s no good. It’s not in the best interest of the United States.
“I believe that we, the majority of the House of Representatives and the majority of the Senate, want Ukrainians to have the weapons they need to defend themselves. And we want them to have weapons. I think we’ll continue to see more of us.”We will continue to follow them to protect ourselves.” ”
Rep. Austin Scott is among the Republicans pushing for progress on aid to Ukraine. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) criticized the supplemental aid bill as too broad, calling for a narrower, more targeted bill that also addresses concerns Republicans have about corruption and accountability surrounding aid funding. Asked for a Ukraine bill.
“I have clearly communicated to the White House what questions they need to answer to get support for the Ukraine funds,” Garcia said.
“Anything that starts with a ‘B’ in terms of funding, unless it’s a spending package, should be an a la carte, independent conversation outside of the normal cycle,” he said, referring to billions of dollars in funding. added.
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Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) argued that failure to assist Ukraine could have repercussions for other countries.
“Following its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. decision to abandon Ukraine will make us less secure, signal weakness to our adversaries, and make our partners question our commitment,” McCaul said. . “Furthermore, additional funding is essential to revive America’s defense industrial base so that we are ready to thwart our greatest adversaries such as China, Russia, and Iran.”
Representative Mike Garcia called for certain guardrails to be placed on Republican approval of aid to Ukraine. (Getty Images)
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and sympathetic to Ukraine, has indicated he might support a separate, narrow aid bill.
“Congress is in session all year round. We don’t need a $60 billion package,” Harris said. “The European Union package is a rather small package over five years. So I don’t see why we wouldn’t cut out a little bit of military-only aid and move forward with it.”
Asked about the issue earlier on Tuesday, the speaker said Ukraine remained a priority for the House, but did not elaborate on what assistance would be provided.
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“It’s not been abandoned, but there’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of the answers that the White House needs to give us,” Johnson said. “The final strategy, the accountability for funding, these are all very specific details that the House needs to consider when making such a significant decision.”
The United States has directed about $75 billion to Ukraine since Russia began its invasion in 2022.
