Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pushed back against a Russian reporter’s attempted ambush question at a news conference in Israel on Monday.
The reporter attempted to suggest that McCarthy does not support U.S. aid to Ukraine and that the House may actually cut off funding to Ukraine. However, McCarthy pushed back hard, going right after the reporter and Russia.
When a Russian reporter asks him if the U.S. will send more weapons and aid to Ukraine, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — despite previously saying there should be no “blank check” — says he supports helping Ukraine:
“I support aid for Ukraine … We will continue to support.” pic.twitter.com/d5Fmr1RNCM
— The Recount (@therecount) May 1, 2023
“No, I vote for aid for Ukraine. I support aid for Ukraine. I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine. I do not support your killing of the children either,” McCarthy said in response to the reporter’s suggestion. “And I think for one standpoint, you should pull out. And I don’t think it’s right. And we will continue to support because the rest of the world sees it just as it is.”
More via The Hill:
The Russian reporter had said that he knows McCarthy does not support “the current unlimited and uncontrolled supplies of weaponry and aid to Ukraine,” asking if it was possible that U.S. policy on sending aid to Ukraine could change in the near future.
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It was an apparent reference to McCarthy saying last year that there would be no “blank check” to Ukraine in a House GOP majority, while not ruling out any future support for Ukraine.
McCarthy defended his statement at the time.
“I think Ukraine is very important. I support making sure that we move forward to defeat Russia in that program. But there should be no blank check on anything. We are $31 trillion in debt,” McCarthy said.
But McCarthy’s caucus is a bit more skeptical than he is when it comes to Ukrainian aid. Republicans who support continued military assistance are even questioning the non-military economic aid being sent to the war-torn country. The House Foreign Affairs Committee last week approved a resolution to audit the aid packages sent to Ukraine to make sure the money isn’t being misused.
There are certainly plenty of questions regarding how much aid has been sent and where it’s going, and McCarthy’s statement appears to support that skepticism.
It’s unlikely that U.S. aid will be cut off entirely, but Republicans in the House could work to attach some strings to the aid legislatively. But the Biden administration does not believe House Republicans will ultimately cut off that aid, and opinion polling does seem to still show American support for aid to Ukraine. Some observers have also attempted to point out ways that the Biden administration could circumvent Congressional approval.
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