Rep. Donalds: Ukraine Will Not Receive Funding from the House
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., had a blunt message for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his visit to Capitol Hill to seek more money from Congress — “there’s no money in the House right now for Ukraine.”
Donalds made the comments in an interview with The Recount on Tuesday.
“It’s not there,” Donalds said, clarifying there’s no support for more money to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“And to be blunt, we’re running a $2 trillion deficit. Any money we give to Ukraine we’re borrowing from our future,” Donalds said. “Those are the facts.”
Zelenskyy is expected in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to visit the White House and congressional leaders.
“It’s not a good time for (Zelenskyy) to be here quite frankly. That’s just the reality,” Donalds said.
His visit comes as House Republicans are scrambling to stave off a government shutdown that would hit Oct. 1 if they’re unable to pass the necessary spending bills. The House GOP, embroiled in a bitter fight over the funding, pulled back a procedural vote slated for Tuesday on a proposed stopgap bill to fund the government through the end of October.
Regardless, Donalds said the Ukraine mess belongs in the White House.
“What’s happened with Ukraine is frankly the fault of leadership of Joe Biden,” Donalds said. “Must be very clear on that. Don’t put that on the backs of American people now. If we had a commander-in-chief who knew how to lead as opposed to take naps, then we would be in a much better situation when it comes to Ukraine and global security for that matter.”
The Biden administration and Congress have directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine since the war with Russia began.
Zelenskyy, who gave a speech Tuesday in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, last met with Biden at the White House in December and addressed a joint meeting of Congress.
In his address to the UNGA, Zelenskyy said Russia is poised to expand its aggression if not stopped in Ukraine.
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