Mitch McConnell says there’s ‘no excuse’ not to support more Ukraine aid

Congress is weighing a roughly $40 billion supplemental funding request put forward last month by the Biden administration that includes aid for Ukraine, border security and domestic disaster relief. About half of the funding would go toward new military aid and additional economic, humanitarian and security assistance for Ukraine.

Some Republicans, particularly in the House, want to consider parts of the request separately, as they have limited interest in continuing to spend more money on Ukraine.

McConnell noted that member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are united and that Europe has “awakened from its defense holiday” to increase its spending on military aid to Ukraine.

GOP Ukraine skeptics dominate the debate, but not the party

“It’s certainly not the time to go wobbly,” McConnell said. “Now with Ukraine bravely defending its sovereignty and eroding Russia’s capacity to threaten NATO, it is not the time to ease up. … Helping Ukraine retake its territory means weakening one of America’s biggest strategic adversaries without firing a shot.”

There has been a growing divide among GOP lawmakers over whether the United States should continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to fight the Russian invasion. McConnell has been among the GOP voices that have steadfastly supported Ukraine, in stark contrast to former president Donald Trump and some congressional Republicans, who have called for ending or slowing aid to Ukraine.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has said he supports Ukraine but not “a blank check,” while hard-right GOP lawmakers such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) have increasingly spoken out against sending aid to Ukraine.

The White House has urged Congress to approve $20.6 billion in additional aid to Ukraine as part of the broader roughly $40 billion package. On Wednesday, McConnell said lawmakers would “have the opportunities” to vote for such aid when considering a short-term spending deal before the end of the month, to avoid a shutdown of the federal government on Oct. 1.