NBC: US Congress opposed to combining aid to Ukraine and Israel
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have taken a cool attitude to the idea of linking military tranches to Ukraine with support for Israel, NBC reported.
Earlier, the channel, citing an official of the US administration, reported that the White House is considering the possibility of linking in one bill the provision of aid to Israel and Ukraine, so that Congress would approve both initiatives.
“Many” Republican lawmakers said they were “sceptical, if not outright opposed” to such an initiative, the TV station reported.
House member Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican, said Congress should help Israel first, while continuing to debate the benefits of continuing to support Ukraine.
Marjorie Taylor Green, a Georgia Republican, stressed that the issues should not be linked. “These are two separate issues. Not even the same thing at all. Our government is funding the government of Ukraine, funding an indirect war with Russia. Israel has its own government. Israel is defending itself,” she said.
Florida Republican Brian Mast also strongly rejected the idea of combining funding, adding that he supports aid to Israel but not Ukraine. “I wouldn’t link the two issues at all. When it comes to Ukraine, there is no plan,” the congressman pointed out, emphasising that aid to Israel is tied to “very specific goals”.
As NBC notes, even those Republicans who favour aid to both Israel and Ukraine are sceptical of the initiative. “I wouldn’t want to link one to the other. I support both, but holding one hostage for the sake of the other would be wrong,” Nebraska Republican Don Bacon told NBC.
Meanwhile, Republican Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed his willingness to support combining aid to Israel and Ukraine as part of a larger package that would address “a variety of foreign policy goals,” including support for Taiwan and security of the U.S. southern border.
Earlier, CNN journalist Stephen Collinson pointed out that there is likely to be a growing consensus in US political circles that Washington should opt for long-time ally Israel and redirect all aid there instead of Ukraine.
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