GOP Win in Midterms Might Mean End of US Aid to Ukraine

If the Republican Party takes control of Congress in the midterm elections on November 8, the extensive assistance provided by Washington to Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia may be cut.

There’s been a noticeable shift away from the previous broad bipartisan consensus on providing aid to Kyiv even among the harshest GOP critics of Vladimir Putin, Axios noted, citing House minority leader Kevin McCarthy who pointed out that people are not going to write a blank check to Ukraine anymore.

In an interview with Punchbowl News earlier this week, McCarthy, who compared Putin to Hitler, insisted that while Ukraine might be important, it can’t be the only thing on the US administration’s agenda.

Commenting on McCarthy’s remarks, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that the Biden administration will keep working with Congress to support Kyiv regardless of the outcome of November’s vote, reminding that it’s a commitment that President Biden made to Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelensky.

Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong believes that the mood swing among the Republicans was likely a result of the feedback that the lawmakers had been getting from their constituents.

He pointed out that Ukraine is the furthest thing from people’s minds when they’re seeing doubled utility bills, a 13% increase in grocery prices, and when they’re being overrun by migrants and fentanyl in border communities.

According to the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) Chairman, Congressman Jim Banks, GOP will focus on domestic issues after the midterms since they believe one can’t lead abroad when so weak at home.

When it comes to Ukraine, the party is united on at least one position: that there should be a thorough accounting of every dollar sent.

Although a reduction or halt in US military aid to Ukraine would create a geopolitical earthquake with the potential to alter Putin’s war trajectory, White House aides confirmed that the Biden administration hadn’t warned Kyiv about the possibility of US aid coming to an end.