White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that there is still bipartisan support for more Ukraine aid despite Republicans’ increasing reluctance to provide it.
Sullivan said in a briefing that there are “strong” Republican voices, especially those in “key leadership positions” that still support more aid to Ukraine.
“We believe that the support will be there and will be sustained,” Sullivan said. However, he cautioned that there are some “dissonant voices” among Republicans.
“Our view is that (Ukraine and U.S. allies in Europe) have confidence that the U.S. will continue to be there, as we have committed to be,” he added.
One European ambassador has, according to Axios, received assurances that America would continue to provide more aid to Ukraine’s protracted conflict with Russia. This assurance follows as European countries’ aid to Ukraine has paled in comparison to Americans’, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Indeed, many influential lawmakers continue to back seemingly endless support for Ukraine.
This week, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) visited Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine.
Zelensky wrote, sharing a video of the meeting, “I met with a bipartisan US Senate delegation @LindseyGrahamSC @SenBlumenthal @SenWarren. I thank President Joseph Biden, both parties and chambers of the Congress, and the American people for standing with Ukraine. U.S. support for Ukraine’s F-16s coalition is vital.”
President Joe Biden has requested another $24 billion in aid to Ukraine. Although, Republicans seem skeptical of this aid passing through the House, noting that many Republicans beyond the House Freedom Caucus oppose this package.
“I just don’t see that support in the House [Republican] conference right now … We are well beyond just the Freedom Caucus talking about this,” a House Republican leadership aide said.
The aide continued, “It’s not a small group of people that are concerned about this. A lot of the rank-and-file members were pretty clear: We’ve done what we can do, we need to focus on some of our own internal problems now.”
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said that he is not sure Ukraine’s war against Russia is “winnable anymore.”
During the debate, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy attacked former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, saying that her pro-Ukraine rhetoric would make her a friend of the military-industrial complex.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.