Days after lawmakers shelved a vital U.S. plan to send billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted by his party colleagues. Aid to Ukraine was named as one of the reasons. Now, a possible replacement has spoken out against giving money to this proxy war with Russia that lines the pockets of corrupt bureaucrats, politicians and the Industrial Military Complex, represented here by BlackRock.
🚨BREAKING: UKRAINE ‘FREAKING OUT’ BILLIONS OF AID MAY STOP AFTER MCCARTHY OUSTER
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 4, 2023
When McCarthy was ousted, the aid to Ukraine was named as one of the reasons
Ukrainian officials are at a loss as to what might happen next.
“We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster. We are… pic.twitter.com/HIglPw89mk
In Kyiv, officials are at a loss as to what might happen next. Their staunchest military ally suddenly looks unreliable, despite assurances from President Biden and others the U.S. will remain steadfast until Ukraine’s invaders are defeated.
“We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, an MP who chairs the committee on Ukraine’s integration into the EU.
The ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker means there will likely be no legislative action until a new one is elected. “Until a new speaker is elected, the House cannot vote on laws, but all other work, including in committees, continues,” Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said in a statement on McCarthy’s ouster.
Markarova said separately that there is at least $1.6 billion left for the US to arm Ukraine using the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which allows President Biden to send weapons directly from military stockpiles. However, the Pentagon told Congress there is $5.4 billion left in PDA for Ukraine, which became available thanks to an “accounting error” that overvalued previous arms shipments.
Markarova also said there was $1.23 billion left in budgetary aid, which the US provides through the World Bank and pays for Ukrainian government services and salaries, among other things. Newsantiwar
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the US only has enough budgetary aid to pay for the month of October and that the funds would dry up if Congress doesn’t authorize more aid.