On Thursday, Matt Gaetz will introduce a resolution in the House that calls for the Biden administration to cease U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine. The measure also calls for a peace agreement as the war will enter its second year on February 24.
The measure, which was introduced by Gaetz and 10 co-sponsors, calls for the nation to “end its military and financial aid to Ukraine and urges all combatants to reach a peace agreement.”
The resolution points that since the war began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. has been the leading contributor of support to Kyiv with more than $110 billion having been provided in military, financial, and humanitarian aid, which also includes more than $27.4 billion in security assistance.
In January, the Biden administration announced that 31 Abrams M1 tanks would be provided to Ukraine and it has been reported that another $2 billion in aid could be in the works. At the time of that announcement, Biden said, “This is about freedom for Ukraine, freedom everywhere.”
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Not only does the resolution outline the extensive list of military equipment that the U.S. has given to Ukraine, but it also cites Pentagon officials who have indicated that the continued donation of munitions has “severely depleted United States stockpiles, weakening United States readiness in the event of conflict.” This is at a time when the UN Chief is warning the world of walking into WWIII.
The measure also estimates that some 40,000 civilians have died in the war and that the nation’s assistance to Ukraine is inadvertently contributing to those deaths.
Discontent has been growing among a sect of Republicans as the Biden administration continues to throw money at a war that is now entering its second year, meanwhile, other issues closer to home would benefit from those resources such as the open southern border, the fentanyl crisis, and processing migrants.
“America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war,” Gaetz said. “We must suspend all foreign aid for the War in Ukraine and demand that all combatants in this conflict reach a peace agreement immediately.”
Gaetz’s co-sponsors for the resolution include Representatives Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Lauren Bobert (R-CO), Paul Gosae (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Mary Miller (R-IL), carry Moore (R-AL), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Matt Rosendale (R-MT).
While Republican leadership has for the most part remained consistent of its support for the continued support and funding of the war in Ukraine with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell saying in December that “providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the No. 1 priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans,” cracks of division have begun to form.
In October, House Leader Kevin McCarthy took a more conservative approach saying that Republicans would not write a “blank check” for Ukraine.
Earlier this week Gaetz aligned with McCarthy and asked the House floor, “How much more for Ukraine? Is there any limit?” he asked. “Which billionth dollar really kicks in the door? Which redline we set will we not later cross?”
