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By Alex J. Rouhandeh
National Political Correspondent
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will appear on Capitol Hill today to speak with a Congress that faces worsening obstacles to funding his campaign against Russia amid discontent from a select number of Republicans.
In 2022, Congress voted on bipartisan lines to supply Ukraine with $112 billion in funding. However, even then, some of the most conservative lawmakers opposed the measure, and that resistance has grown in the wake of President Joe Biden's August request for $24 billion in additional funding.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has consistently supported funding Ukraine up to this point, has faced growing pressure from his hard-right flank, which sees the war effort as a waste of taxpayer dollars, a view summed up by Georgia's GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who notably explained her stance to CBS' 60 Minutes, saying, "Ukraine is not the 51st state."
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While some members are unlikely to ever change their stance, Republican Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, outlined a message Zelensky could make that may be able to persuade more amiable members, a message that would provide them with a better understanding of how funding can lead to victory.
"What I hear [from those members] is, 'There's no mission, there's no plan for victory, we're trusting the Biden administration, and that's not working,' and that's why you're seeing abstention," McCaul told Newsweek.
"What I find persuasive is we're doing this without one American soldier, and if we don't do this, we may get in a situation where we have to put American troops on the ground," he added. "Then when you talk about the connection between Putin and Chairman Xi and the Ayatollah and Kim Jong Un, then they understand it's greater than Ukraine."
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For Zelensky, McCaul, and other supporters of Ukraine, getting funding approval passed through the House means lessening the pressure on McCarthy to hold back funds. While most Republicans still side with McCaul, in July, 70 House Republicans voted to cut all U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
During a trip to Israel last May, McCarthy told a Russian reporter that he supported aid for Ukraine. But recently, pressure from the hard-right appears to be weighing on the speaker's position, as evidenced during a Tuesday exchange with reporters after he was asked whether he'd commit to funding Zelensky's effort.
"Is Zelensky elected to Congress? McCarthy asked rhetorically. "Is he our president? I don't think I have to commit anything, and I think I have questions for him."
Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw of Texas, a former Navy SEAL, believes it's in America's best interest to support the cause. He stressed that doing so is not because "Ukraine is more deserving of our help than any other country," but because it maintains the international order established since World War II.
"Members need to understand what's in America's best interest, and there's this naive and stupid belief that you can just let the world burn around you, and everything's gonna be fine," Crenshaw told Newsweek. "You can either prevent major countries from invading other ones just because they like their stuff and maintain a sense of stability which benefits Americans the most, or you can let the world burn."
But Crenshaw isn't confident that there is anything Zelensky can say or do at this point to convince the staunchest hardliners opposing additional funding support for his country. The Texas Republican believes their opposition is rooted in partisanship, because the Democratic Party largely aims to fund the cause as well.
Whether Zelensky will have the opportunity to directly reach these members remains to be seen. While McCarthy is expected to meet with the Ukrainian president, the speaker has not announced plans for a House-wide meeting.
On the other side of the U.S. Capitol though, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer has organized a meeting between Zelensky and all 100 senators.
While 11 Republican Senators voted in May of 2022 against providing $40 billion in funding for Ukraine, the upper chamber's GOP members largely support funding the effort as a matter of U.S. national security, and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has taken to the Senate floor repeatedly as of late to stress his support for the cause.
Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, feels confident about the state of bipartisan support in the Senate. He believes Zelensky's visit to the Capitol will be effective in supporting his cause.
"There's strong bipartisan support in the Senate for supporting Ukraine, and I think his presence here will remind people that his fight is our fight," Reed told Newsweek. "If he loses, we lose in a very complicated and significant way."
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