In a new interview, former Vice President Mike Pence defended the need to provide Ukraine with financial and material aid to repel its Russian invaders.
The remarks contrasted somewhat with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who noted the importance of countering Russian aggression while also touching on the list of domestic crises worrying voters.
McCarthy, the heavy favorite to become the next Speaker of the House if Republicans win a majority, expressed his views in an interview with Punchbowl News published Tuesday:
“I think Ukraine is very important. I support making sure that we move forward to defeat Russia in that program. But there should be no blank check on anything. We are $31 trillion in debt.”
At least one Democratic lawmaker thought they could spin McCarthy's comments to their party's advantage. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., tweeted that “spineless Republicans” wanted to “cast aside American global leadership” when it matters most.
Meanwhile, Pence told an audience at Heritage that “there can be no room in the conservative movement for apologists to Putin.” While he didn't accuse anyone by name of putting the Kremlin above America and the West, his passionate defense of Ukraine continued on Fox News.
Mediaite reports:
“The House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, who wants to become the next Speaker of the House, had said if Republicans take the gavel that America will no longer be a blank check for the war on Ukraine. Do you take issue with that” asked anchor John Roberts, referring to widely publicized remarks from McCarthy on Tuesday.
“You know, the United States throughout our history has understood that we need to be the leader of the free world. That includes being the arsenal of democracy. And in the days of Ronald Reagan, we we understood the value of confronting the Russians and communism in the world, not by necessarily fighting them directly, but by making sure the people that were fighting the communists, whether in our hemisphere or other places around the world, had the resources that they need,” Pence responded, adding:
I think this is such a fight, at the Heritage Foundation here in Washington today. I came to town to talk about an agenda for the new Congress coming forward. But I really do believe in rededicating our commitment to a strong national defense, which has been significantly weakened by this administration. It's not being widely reported outside of Fox, but this administration, while they have broken the bank on domestic spending — $1.8 trillion in their first few months in office, that ignited the inflation that's besetting families — they've been flatlining military spending in this country.
McCarthy claimed Wednesday morning that he found it peculiar his comment even made the news, saying: “Wouldn't you want a check and balance in Congress? Wouldn't you want this hardworking taxpayers' money, someone overseeing it? We've got to eliminate the wasteful spending in Washington.”
The Hill adds:
Some Republicans support sending military aid to Ukraine but have scrutinized dollars authorized for economic and humanitarian help and pushed for more oversight of those funds. One criticism from Republicans on another $12.2 billion Ukraine aid measure that was tacked on to a stopgap funding bill that passed in the House in September was that only a minority of the funds were for military aid.
Most congressional Republicans have supported aid to Ukraine — but more than a few influential voices want the U.S. spigot funding Ukrainian resistance shut off.
Or at least greatly reduced.
As American Liberty News reported on Friday:
Some on the left, and the right, see military aid to the Russian-invaded country as an impediment to peace. Tucker has gone so far as to condemn many conservative Republicans for their support of the war effort and controversially has called Zelenskyy a “dictator” for his wartime decisions, including the arrest of Viktor Medvedchuk. Medvedchuk is a close ally of Vladimir Putin and head of Ukraine's Opposition Platform for Life party. Prosecutors charged him with treason in May. He was later sent to live in Russia as part of a prisoner exchange with the Kremlin.
Who do you think is right? Pence, McCarthy or Tucker? Or is the answer more complicated than that?
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McCarthy wants to fiddle while Rome may be burning…. such leaders?
I find the article very devisive and detrimental to the Republican party. I would further question the authors motives in writing the article. United we stand divided we fall.
About time to turn off the American money supply to the totally corrupt Ukraine. Also, don’t forget a good part of their Army is Nazis. So now Pence is wanting to support the Nazis. I guess in WWII he would have supported Hitler.
Sounds like he supports the Biden policy
Pence with the DC Estd & RINOs
Why did the US/NATO start a bloody WAR to dismantle, partition Yugoslavia? Why the same entities now supporting/promoting a bloody War, so that the same won’t happen to the Ukraine? Ukraine is made up of some 6 different nationalities, territories just like Yogoslavia was! Ukraine has millions of minorities, plus territories from, Russia, Moldova, Byelorussia, Rumania, Hungary, Poland! Just return those people, and territories to the respective Motherlands and PRESTO there is no more reason to continue the bloodshed and the War horror stories! Why is that not a JUST OPTION? Peace and JUSTICE for ALL!! Or is it True that, “WAR IS a RACKET”? “The Chosen Few” Money Bags are making Profit$$$s while the unfortunate Masses of Humanity just suffer and DIE?? Where is JUSTICE! Where is the U>N. the E>U??
Hey Pence why don’t you focus more on fighting the current Communists within OUR OWN country BEFORE you focus on fighting Communists abroad! AMERICA FIRST or we won’t be able to fight Communism Anywhere! You are just another Republican deep swamp creature!
While I dont think we should be spending so much on nonsense domestically or otherwise – and sending all our spare ammo and weapons systems to ukraine and afghanistan while depleting our strategic fuel reserve at a time china is likely to take advantage – i also dont think announcing to a country we know to be corrupt that it will lose its funding – they have a lot of dollars we just threw at them – whats the likelihood ukraine will try to influence US elections in this cycle to guarantee their feed of us taxpayer dollars with some of those same dollars?