House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) suggested on Tuesday that major Ukraine aid may be more difficult to pass if the House is controlled by Republicans after the upcoming mid-term elections.
“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it. … It’s not a free blank check,” McCarthy told Punchbowl News.
While spending billions on the war in Ukraine still has strong bipartisan support, 57 House Republicans voted against the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that was passed in May.
McCarthy and other Republican leaders are still in favor of supporting Ukraine, but more GOP members are said to be questioning the policy. So far, the US has authorized over $67 billion to spend on the war, more than Russia’s entire military budget for 2021.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, downplayed McCarthy’s comments and said he believes the GOP concerns are more over the lack of oversight.
There still is virtually no oversight for the tens of billions of dollars that have been sent to Ukraine, which covers not only military aid but also direct funding of the Ukrainian government.
“I think there’s still broad bipartisan support for the effort,” McCaul said. “I think he’s just saying we’re not going to write a blank check without oversight and accountability, which my committee will be providing.”
The Punchbowl News report said that if Republicans win the majority in the House or the Senate, it could prompt the Biden administration to press for a full year of Ukraine aid to be approved during the lame-duck period.
So a blank check is ok — we should just gulp and swallow about how it was spent. What’s not to love! “I think there’s still broad bipartisan support for the effort,” McCaul said. “I think he’s just saying we’re not going to write a blank check without oversight and accountability, which my committee will be providing.”
Yep – ‘military spending with new xxtra-strong fiscal oversight! – it’s two!…two!…two scams in one!’
keeps the barrels of military bucks flowing in the new forever war…plus adds that good old Republican ingredient – the shit-sweet reek of fiscal rectitude that fills the air whenever a Republican or mainstream Dem walks by…
“Ukraine Aid May Be More Difficult to Pass in Republican-Controlled House Rep. Kevin McCarthy says GOP lawmakers may be hesitant to give a ‘blank check’ to Ukraine”
What was your first clue that the most corrupt country on earth (drag queen Zellensky) was stealing the cash and selling off the weapons provided by the Western criminal politicians like Joey Biden?
Political posturing.
Somehow I’m going to make a wild guess that when a vote is taken, lipstick will be applied to this pig and plenty of votes will show up to support more going to Ukraine.
Better said, more grease will be applied to Republican palms.
One team of warmongers will change the other team of warmongers and they will carry on with the business as usual.
Tag team war
How about no check, blank or otherwise? I believe we’re approaching a critical mass of people who don’t want to fund this nonsense anymore no matter what McCaul believes. We’ve had thirty years of this crap since the end of the Cold War.
” I believe we’re approaching a critical mass of people who don’t want to fund this nonsense anymore”
If only – though a Responsible Statecraft poll showed a majority wanted diplomacy added to military aid, as I recall only about 10% said they felt strongly about that – hence a still-weak US antiwar movement. (And I write that as an activist in that movement, btw.)
Best I can say is those numbers could be worse, given how the mainstream press peddled the Russiagate fraud, and its warmongering.
Actually, we don’t need diplomacy. We just need to close the spigot at a date certain and make sure Zelensky understands he has to extend his upturned palm in another direction.
“we don’t need diplomacy. We just need to close the spigot at a date certain and make sure Zelensky understands”
Well, that’s a type of diplomacy too. More generally ‘diplomacy’ – including, but not limited to what Z. is given to understand – is (pardon my mixing metaphors) the wedge in the door to get to get at that spigot, imo.
Even the propaganda regurgitating, war cheerleading NYT, in an ‘exception that proves the rule’ editorial on the limits of US aid, feinted a nanosec in that direction when it wrote:
“as the war continues, Mr. Biden should…make clear to…Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will go to confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster.” (5/17/22)
In domestic politics, the excluded concept of diplomacy is not just ‘an alternative to war’ – it opens democratic discourse on the institutionally anti-democratic conduct of US foreign policy.
The NYT and others are motivated by concern over the economic well being of the USA, not the well being of democratic norms or demonstrable postures of civic responsibility among the various nation states.
This is the guy who said that once the GOP controls the House and Senate, they will rid Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Can’t wait. In between trying to impeach Biden and following their cult leader’s demands from Florida, when will they find the time?
I trust McCarthy as much as I trust Pelosi. Will lie to get votes, them go back to MIC swamp business as usual.
That’s just another ploy to get GOP votes. If they do win, they will say they have ‘evolved’ (flip flopped) and the aid will happen. They won’t bite any hand that feeds them, even the ‘hand of glory.’
POLARIS 21, November 18 to December 3, 2021, a NATO exercise in the area west of the island of Corsica, between France and Spain. Journalists now have data related to the exercise which was advanced NATO preparation to start an armed conflict with the Russian Federation.
The NATO coalition would form and send an aircraft carrier strike group led by the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to attack the Russian forces halting an expected Russian defense of the Donbass in Ukraine.
POLARIS 2021 was also a demonstration of NATO support for the coup imposed Nazi’s in Kyiv to start hostilities with the Donbass which would provide an excuse for NATO to intervene, NATO was setting up an attack on Russia.
The start of the Special Military Operation of the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine became the only possible response to the inevitable aggression of NATO. It was this intervention that is responsible for why there was not and will not be a conflict between Russia and NATO. A Third World War was prevented by the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
Some people are not so sure whether World War is prevented or not. Everything is just about to begin. So far, we are watching only the escalation.
No more money tree!
So the Kochtopus is to the left of AOC on this issue. Where are they now? Quite dead you know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_congressional_opponents_of_the_Vietnam_War
Republicans write checks with their mouths that their butts don’t cash.