Incoming House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) called for arms to Ukraine to help destroy the Russian military as public officials have increasingly warned about the prospect of a “major war” between the West and Russia.
CBS News asked McCaul about House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) claim that a House Republican majority would not send a “blank check” to Ukraine.
McCaul did not speak to any limitations on aid to Ukraine; instead, the Texas Republican spoke about how arming Ukraine is doing well to destroy the Russian military.
“I support Ukraine. I think going with the amount of investment we’ve had is very small relative to destroying the Russian military. And that’s what we’ve done without one American soldier being attacked, killed, or in country. To me, that’s a pretty good investment,” McCaul said in a Friday interview with CBS News.
McCaul then said that more aid to help Ukraine’s conflict with Russia will come with “oversight,” “transparency,” and “accountability.”
Asked if he favors sending heavier arms to Ukraine in its protracted war with Russia, he said, “One hundred percent because the longer you drag this out, the more bloodshed. And the will of the American people and the Congress will dwindle until we can get this thing over with.”
McCaul spoke after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Friday that a full-blown “major war” between Russia and the West could possibly break out over Ukraine.
“I fear that the war in Ukraine will get out of control, and spread into a major war between NATO and Russia,” the NATO secretary general cautioned. However, he added that he believes that such a possibility could be avoided.
McCaul’s enthusiastic support for more arms to Ukraine remains in conflict with a near majority of Republican voters, who have said that they would like to decrease foreign aid to Ukraine.
Congress is poised to grant as much as $37 billion in aid to Ukraine, which would likely be in either a continuing resolution (CR) or omnibus spending bill this winter. So far, Congress has appropriated $66 billion in aid to Ukraine.
The Morning Consult poll found that 48 percent of registered Republican voters want to decrease the provisioning of foreign aid. The survey revealed that 48 percent of Republicans want to decrease involvement in other countries’ affairs.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Breitbart News in early November that Americans need to know if the United States is waging a “proxy war” against Russia.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
