News/Commentary

McConnell backs Biden plan to bundle Ukraine, Israel aid – claims it’s ‘all interconnected’

October 22, 2023 | | Print Article

For some inexplicable reason, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell supports President Joe Biden’s plans to bundle Ukraine/Israel aid together.

Asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” this Sunday about the desire by some Republicans to separate the two spending proposals, McConnell cried foul.

“I just think that’s a mistake. I mean, I know there are some Republicans in the Senate, and maybe more in the House, saying Ukraine is somehow different. I view it as all interconnected,” he said, according to The Hill.

McConnell also pushed back on those Republicans who don’t want to provide Ukraine with any more aid, period.

“No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. We’re rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think it’s wonderful that they’re defending themselves- and also the notion that the Europeans are not doing enough,” he said.

He added that he and the president are “generally in the same place” regarding the funding issue, though they clearly disagree on everything else.

“Well, not on the domestic side, but on this issue that we’re discussing today, we’re generally in the same place,” he said.

That said, McConnell faces massive pushback from other Republicans both in the Senate and House, starting with Sen. Tom Cotton.

In a statement issued Friday, Cotton said he has an issue with BOTH the aid to Israel and the aid to Ukraine.

“President Biden’s slush fund proposal is dead on arrival, just like his budgets. We will not spend, for example, $3.5 billion to address the ‘potential needs of Gazans,’ essentially functioning as a resupply line for Hamas terrorists,” he said of the aid to Israel.

“We will also not spend $11.8 billion to fund the Ukrainian government’s own non-war spending, such as funding retirement pensions for Ukrainian government employees,” he added in regard to the aid to Ukraine.

“The Biden proposal is going nowhere, and Senate Republicans will take the lead on crafting a funding bill that protects Americans and their interests,” he concluded.

Then there’s Sen. J.D. Vance, who co-penned a whole column in The Hill on Thursday with Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts arguing that the aid to Israel, which he staunchly supports, must be disconnected from the aid to Ukraine, which he staunchly opposes.

In the piece, the two explained why Israel’s aid matters more than Ukraine’s aid.

“Israel is a democratic, historic U.S. partner and key ally in the Middle East, whereas Ukraine is still shedding Soviet-era corruption and is not a NATO partner. Additionally, Israel has wealthy neighbors, but they are not going to assist Israel’s war effort, and aid is unlikely to come from any source but the U.S. The same cannot be said of Ukraine, whose wealthy EU neighbors — notably Germany and France — could provide considerably more assistance,” they wrote.

They also contrasted the clear goals in Israel versus the obscure goals in Ukraine.

“In the case of Israel, U.S. assistance would be exclusively military, provided with the clear end goals in mind of defeating terrorists, weakening Iran’s influence in the region, and rescuing hostages, including American citizens,” they noted.

“In contrast, the U.S. has already sent $113 billion in aid to Ukraine, much of it economic aid. And despite having spent the equivalent of $900 for every U.S. household on Ukraine, the Biden administration still has not articulated a clearly defined strategic case or an end goal,” they continued.

Dovetailing back to McConnell, while on “Face the Nation,” he also admitted that he has no dog in the speaker fight currently embroiling the House.

“Look, I’m not an expert on the House. I have my hands full here in the Senate, and we’re gonna do our job and hope the House can get functional here sometime soon,” he said when asked if there was “anyone in the House who can lead the Republicans.”

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Vivek Saxena
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