Divided GOP tiptoes on Biden request for more Ukraine aid - The Hill

Republicans are tiptoeing astir a caller petition from the Biden medication for billions successful Ukraine aid, arsenic the enactment faces interior divisions connected the way guardant for assistance.  

The White House past week asked Congress for much than $37 cardinal successful further assistance for Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion. And portion immoderate Republicans accidental they’re supportive of the amount, galore much person been cautious to instrumentality a presumption conscionable yet.

“It’s a batch of money. I deliberation we’ll person to person an unfastened treatment connected it,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), apical Republican connected the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee connected Homeland Security, said connected Tuesday, soon aft the petition was made public.

While determination is wide enactment for Ukraine subject assistance among Republicans successful some chambers, determination has besides been absorption astir different forms of assistance and however it’s being accounted for.

“There’s beardown bipartisan enactment for supporting Ukraine, but I deliberation there’s besides an involvement successful having accounting for the dollars that person already been spent,” Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said Thursday.

“I deliberation we’re gonna person to resoluteness that issue,” Thune told The Hill, adding: “It’ll get worked retired 1 mode oregon the other. But a batch of this stuff, I deliberation close now, it’s astir apt gonna get punted to the adjacent Congress would beryllium my guess.”

There is immoderate urgency among lawmakers to instrumentality up Ukraine assistance pursuing spillover from Russia’s warfare into Poland earlier this week, wherever an apparent, errant Ukrainian rocket detonation killed 2 Polish citizens. 

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer radical and a subordinate of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Hill that it is “very important” for Congress to see the administration’s backing petition “as we’re finishing the fund for this year.” 

Lawmakers are earnestly eyeing attaching Ukraine backing to must-pass authorities backing authorities during the lame-duck session, arsenic leaders question to cinch an omnibus backing woody by year’s end. 

Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) expressed assurance connected Tuesday that Congress volition walk an omnibus measure with assistance for Ukraine successful the coming weeks.

However, it’s unclear whether Congress volition beryllium capable to walk an omnibus by Dec. 16, erstwhile backing is due. It could alternatively walk a continuing solution to stave disconnected a shutdown, arsenic some sides conflict to find statement connected an wide topline fig for adjacent year’s spending.

There person besides been rifts amongst Republicans implicit whether to hold larger decisions astir caller backing into adjacent twelvemonth to let the adjacent Congress much accidental connected however the authorities should beryllium funded for fiscal twelvemonth 2023, which began successful October. 

There is adamant enactment from some parties to walk assistance for Ukraine during the lame-duck period, peculiarly arsenic uncertainty swells astir whether a GOP House could impede backing adjacent year.

“I deliberation what immoderate radical are acrophobic astir is the alteration successful the House,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told The Hill connected Wednesday.

“I deliberation there’s immoderate questions arsenic to what the House is going to bash erstwhile a alteration is over,” Capito added. “We’ll conscionable person to spot however that falls out. I can’t marque a prediction there.”

A number of outspoken Republicans person criticized assistance for Ukraine erstwhile determination are needs successful the U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has voted against earlier assistance packages to Ukraine, introduced a privileged solution connected Thursday to audit U.S. assistance to Ukraine, portion of her wide rejection of sending American assistance abroad.  

“I voted ‘no’ from the beginning, and I’ll proceed to ballot ‘no,’” she said during a property league past week. 

Fifty-seven House Republicans voted against a $40 cardinal assistance bundle for Ukraine successful May, including Greene, and she said she expects that fig to grow.

This is apt to see Rep.-elect Cory Mills (R-Fl.), who lent his enactment to Greene’s solution connected Thursday. 

“Americans merit transparency of wherever their wealth goes, that’s our occupation arsenic elected officials,” helium said.

The State Department’s Office of Inspector General has an ongoing audit of however assistance to Ukraine is being disbursed. The Biden administration, arsenic portion of its backing petition to Congress, earmarked $20 cardinal for “oversight and accountability” to “maintain ongoing efforts to enactment with the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance and different Ukrainian authorities institutions connected their monitoring, transparency, verification, and reporting related to their use” of American enactment to the authorities successful Kyiv.

Recent polling does amusement enactment for Ukraine assistance is connected a downward inclination among registered Republicans. In a canvass released earlier this month by the Wall Street Journal, 48 percent of registered Republicans said the U.S. is doing excessively overmuch to enactment Ukraine.

But Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), ranking Republican connected the House Rules Committee, who is supportive of continued U.S. assistance, said connected Thursday helium thinks astir Americans don’t recognize the stakes the Ukraine-Russian struggle poses to nationalist security.

“If the Ukrainians fail, I deliberation the likelihood of China doing thing unsafe successful the occidental Pacific spell up dramatically,” Cole said, referring to concerns among the U.S. and allies that China is weighing an penetration of neighboring Taiwan based connected however America and its allies support solidarity for Ukraine.

“I deliberation we person a nationalist involvement present and I’m ne'er going to beryllium ashamed of supporting radical that are warring for their lives literally, against a brutal aggression that they did not successful immoderate way, signifier oregon form, encourage,” the congressman continued.

Republicans disquieted the U.S. could beryllium drawn much straight into a wider warfare are pushing diplomacy aft the 2 deaths successful Poland, which dissimilar Ukraine is simply a NATO member.

“I deliberation it was a wake-up telephone to however adjacent we are being drawn into this done the NATO Treaty,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told The Hill, referring to communal defence commitments among NATO members. Massie is simply a co-sponsor to Greene’s audit solution and is captious of American assistance to Ukraine.

“It’s a accidental for america to benignant of instrumentality a sober look astatine what commitments we really person if that were to person been a rocket from Russia,” Massie said.

The detonation successful Poland has underscored the high-stakes arsenic Russian attacks connected Ukraine person intensified — adjacent arsenic Ukraine has scored awesome battlefield victories.

National Security Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters connected Friday that the medication supports a diplomatic negotiated colony but that the timing is up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

“It’s hard for anybody to ideate that Mr. Zelensky would beryllium acceptable to beryllium down and speech portion his citizens are virtually being slaughtered astir connected a regular ground by the Russians,” helium said.