US military supply lines stretched thin amid Ukraine, Israel conflicts
FOX News’ Jennifer Griffin reports the Pentagon is ‘just barely’ keeping up as Congress debates the defense budget and gives an update on Sen. Tuberville's military promotion blockade.
FIRST ON FOX: Senior House Republicans are laying out their case for why and how the U.S. can support Ukraine amid increasingly dire warnings for Congress to approve more funds to uphold Kyiv’s defense against Russia’s brutal invasion.
A 28-page report is being sent within the House GOP conference outlining a "proposed plan for victory in Ukraine." It calls for a three-pronged approach to success, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital: Getting "critical weapons to Ukraine at the speed of relevance," tighter sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies, and "transferring frozen Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine."
"This will take congressional Republican pressure, which has been the key to unlocking every new needed weapon system to Ukraine since the start of the war," the memo said. "This strategy will ensure Ukraine is able to make the needed advances on the battlefield to force Putin to the negotiating table. If Ukraine doesn’t negotiate from a position of strength, there can be no lasting peace."
The report was led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas; House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala.; and Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio.
From left, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (Getty Images)
Ukrainian officials are visiting Capitol Hill on Tuesday, a day after the White House’s Office of Management and Budget wrote a letter to congressional leaders warning that Ukraine will suffer serious losses if new U.S. aid is not approved this year.
But a growing number of conservatives, mainly in the House, are increasingly skeptical of the continued flow of aid to Ukraine.
The state of Ukraine funding in Congress is currently in limbo amid GOP-driven conversations about pairing it with U.S. border security and asylum reforms – many proposals of which have been deemed nonstarters by Democrats.
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The Senate is expected to tee up a vote on Biden’s $106 billion supplemental aid request for Ukraine and Israel, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already signaled he’s opposed to putting that package on the House floor.
But the Tuesday memo argues that continuing to provide aid to Ukraine is boosting the U.S. economy and preventing a larger conflict down the line, such as if Putin attacks a NATO ally.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is appealing to Congress for more aid. (Eric Lalmand/Pool/Photo News via Getty Images)
The report also frames the ongoing issues in Ukraine as the fault of President Biden, stating, "Biden is mishandling the worst war in Europe since World War II. His weakness failed to deter Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, continues to prolong the war, and risks inviting further aggression from America’s adversaries."
At the same time, it appears to tackle conservative skeptics’ concerns about having proper oversight of the aid dollars and whether European allies are paying their fair share.
"As of November 2023, the Inspectors General of the DoD, State, and USAID have not identified any significant diversion, theft, or misuse of U.S. assistance to Ukraine," the lawmakers wrote, noting, "There are 96 ongoing or planned audits and reports by the IGs of more than 20 different agencies, as well as the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to monitor, audit, and evaluate activities related to the Ukraine response. 39 have been completed."
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They also refuted the claim that the U.S. is dealt a bigger financial burden than its allies – when measured as a percentage of GDP, 29 countries have given more aid to Ukraine than the U.S., according to the report.
It also included charts and graphs demonstrating that combined foreign aid to Ukraine is greater than the U.S. contributions by a margin of 55% to 45%.
The 23-page report hammers President Biden for his handling of Ukraine. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The report also stressed Russia’s budding alliances with China and Iran, and argued that upholding Ukraine against Moscow now would serve to deter Beijing and Tehran as well.
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Razom for Ukraine, a U.S. group pushing for continued support, told Fox News Digital they were supportive of the proposals in the GOP lawmakers’ report.
"Chairmen McCaul, Turner, and Rogers make the crystal clear case for U.S. assistance to finally help Ukraine prevail over Putin’s invasion. This plan outlines how the U.S. can provide the aid and military capability needed to help Ukraine win – not just survive," a top official in the group said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
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