Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, is accusing President Biden of using Israel’s fight against Hamas terrorists to push additional aid to Ukraine in its ongoing battle with Russia, describing the effort in the president’s address from the Oval Office Thursday night as “completely disgraceful.”
Vance, who published an opinion piece on the topic in The Hill with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts ahead of Biden’s address, made it clear that he finds the situations in Israel and Ukraine to be very different.
“Instead of holding up aid to Israel for additional Ukraine funding, Congress should give the situation in Israel the separate debate and vote that it deserves,” Vance and Roberts wrote. The long piece also focused on their beliefs that wealthy European countries near Ukraine, such as Germany and France, should step up and provide “considerably more assistance.”
During Biden’s address, which focused primarily on the conflicts in both countries, he said he would be sending Congress an “urgent budget request” on Friday to fund America’s national security needs, which includes supporting critical partners like Israel and Ukraine.
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, criticized President Biden’s efforts to push for more funding for Ukraine while addressing Israel’s fight against terrorist group Hamas during an address from the Oval Office on Thursday. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Vance responded to the president’s push for funding in both countries in real time on X, formerly Twitter, and called his efforts “disgusting.”
“What Biden is doing is disgusting. He’s using dead children in Israel to sell his disastrous Ukraine policy to skeptical Americans. They are not the same countries, they are not the same problems, and this effort to use Israel for political cover is offensive. Hell no,” the senator wrote.
Vance joined Sean Hannity as a guest Thursday night to further explain his thoughts, where he added that it’s “completely disgraceful” that Biden is trying to sell Americans on a “Ukrainian escalation” while addressing Israel’s fight against Hamas since the terrorist group launched its attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7.
“If he wants to sell the American people on $60 billion more to Ukraine, he shouldn’t use dead Israeli children to do it. It was disgusting,” Vance said, reiterating that “it is a separate country and a separate problem.”
The congressman also doubled down on his belief that Europe is depending on America’s generosity to get away with not assisting Ukraine more as the country’s fight against Putin’s invasion nears 20 months.
“We just can’t afford it and we can’t support the weapons necessary to fight a two, or God forbid, a three-front conflict if China invades Taiwan,” Vance explained.
WATCH PRESIDENT BIDEN’S THURSDAY NIGHT ADDRESS FROM OVAL OFFICE
Biden made the push for funding to both Israel and Ukraine by stating both countries are fighting off enemies who want to “completely annihilate” them.
President Biden’s primetime address Thursday evening focused primarily on the Israel and Ukraine, and their respective wars against terrorist group Hamas and Russia. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common – they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,” the president said, later describing Hamas as terrorists and Putin as a tyrant.
Funding to Ukraine is becoming increasingly controversial in Washington, D.C., as some Republicans seek to cut off aid going to the country, which tallies more than an estimated $100 billion of taxpayer money since Feb. 2022, according to the White House.
“We have problems funding Social Security, we have problems funding, Medicare, Medicaid, all the things that have already been promised to our people we have trouble funding, and we just don’t have extra money just to be sending to another country,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital earlier this month.
Disagreements over aid to Ukraine almost caused a government shutdown last month as lawmakers could not come to an agreement on spending before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy passed a spending patch without the additional multi-billion dollar Ukraine assistance as requested by President Biden, which ultimately averted the shutdown. The temporary funding patch expires Nov. 17, bringing Congress to another potential showdown in a few weeks.
