While top congressional leaders have yet to comment on the visit, some House Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine and his renewed support for Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression, undercutting Biden’s message of bipartisan support for Ukraine.
In a surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of the one-year anniversary of Ukraine’s war with Russia, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and highlighted the broad, bipartisan support among members of Congress for Ukraine’s war effort.
“While our Congress is divided on some issues, there is an important consensus in support of Ukraine,” Biden said.
But some House Republicans are upending that bipartisanship in response to Biden’s social media visits. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called Biden’s trip “incredibly insulting” and said his visit embodies an “America First” policy.
“This is unbelievably insulting. Today is our President’s Day and US President Joe Biden chose Ukraine over America while forcing the American people to pay for the Ukraine government and war. I cannot express how much Americans hate Joe Biden,” Green said in an interview. tweet.
Green was one of 11 House Republicans who co-sponsored the “Ukraine Fatigue” resolution earlier this month. The resolution called for a suspension of military and financial aid to Ukraine.
Other House Republicans used the trip to criticize Biden for prioritizing Ukraine’s defense over domestic policy issues such as immigration.
“It’s appalling that President Biden can show up in Ukraine to secure their border, but can’t do the same for the United States,” said the Republican Rep. of Pennsylvania.scott perry in a tweet.
“So Joe Biden @POTUS spent two years visiting the war zone he created on our southern border, but then he went to see another war zone he created in Ukraine,” said the Republican Rep. of North Carolina.Greg Murphy in a tweet.
Despite criticism from some House Republicans, others have urged President Biden to increase his support for Ukraine. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Mike McCall said in a CNN State of the Union interview on Sunday that bipartisan support for Ukraine “remains very strong” and called on the Biden administration to increase support to avoid a “long-term, protracted war”.
After arriving in Ukraine, Biden announced an additional $500 million in aid to Ukraine.