Congress Speaker Johnson backs Kyiv, but questions White House strategy on Ukraine support
The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Mike Johnson, voted against approving new military aid to Ukraine because he wanted to "send a message" to the White House, he said in an interview with CBS.
Republicans will be ready to vote for aid as soon as the Joe Biden administration explains to them its strategy regarding Ukraine.
The voters do not understand what exactly is the goal of Biden's policy regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the politician stated.
He also listed the questions he would like answers from the White House: "What is the endgame in Ukraine? What is our strategy? What is the objective?"
Johnson also wants assurances that the US will have "proper oversight" over military aid spending.
The speaker claims that due to the growth of the US national debt, Washington "will have to borrow money from somewhere else" to budget aid to Ukraine and "need accountability for the people who are funding that."
Johnson emphasized that the Republicans in the House of Representatives are not against allocating aid to Ukraine, and recalled that during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he said that they "stand resolved with the Ukrainian people and with [their] fight for Freedom and against Vladimir Putin who is a ruthless dictator in my view".
At the same time, when asked by a journalist whether Congress will be able to ensure the allocation of aid to Ukraine by February, Johnson replied that "we must secure the U.S. border before we secure anyone else's."
On December 6, 2023, US President Joe Biden appealed to Congress to approve additional funding for assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He emphasized that Putin will go further if he is not stopped in Ukraine – and then the American military will have to fight against the Russians.
On December 13, President Zelenskyy returned from the United States, where he tried to persuade Congress to vote for aid to Ukraine without a positive result.
Eventually, Congress went on winter break without approving additional aid to Ukraine.