Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave his most full-throated support for aiding Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion, in a heated exchange with a Russian news agency reporter in Jerusalem.
(Bloomberg) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave his most full-throated support for aiding Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion, in a heated exchange with a Russian news agency reporter in Jerusalem.
McCarthy has in the past called for further scrutiny of aid to Ukraine, responding in part to far-right members of the GOP who have been critical of US aiding Kyiv. Former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee again in 2024, has also made critical comments about the US effort to defend Ukraine.
The speaker, on a trip to Israel was asked by a reporter from a Russian news agency if the US will curtail aid to Ukraine.
“I vote for aid for Ukraine, I support aid for Ukraine,” McCarthy said. “I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine, I do not support your killing of the children either.”
“You should pull out and I don’t think it’s right,” the speaker said. “We will continue to support. And I think the rest of the world sees it just as it is.”
McCarthy’s comments come as his party is seeking to cut discretionary spending by $130 billion next year and by $4.8 trillion over a decade as part of a standoff over raising the US debt ceiling. The comments are an indication that defense spending and aid to Ukraine in particular could be spared cuts.
The US has provided $35 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, according to the State Department.
In a speech earlier in the day to the Israeli Knesset, McCarthy said that as long as he is speaker, the US will continue to fully fund Israel’s security needs. In the current fiscal year, the US has provided $3.3 billion in security funding to Israel.
“As long as I am speaker, America will continue to support fully funding security assistance to Israel,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy told reporters he still has yet not heard from President Joe Biden about holding budget talks after the House last week passed the $4.8 trillion budget-cutting plan tied to a $1.5 trillion debt ceiling increase. Without congressional action, the US could default on payment obligations as soon as June.
“We will not raise the debt ceiling without doing something about our debt,” McCarthy said.
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