Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) predicted that if the aid bill for Ukraine does not pass in the House, it could result in American troops fighting in Europe.
Jeffries appeared Saturday on The Weekend to share his thoughts on the possibility of the bill passing. It is paired with a border bill and is requesting $12 billion in “direct budget support” for the Ukrainian government plus $10 billion in humanitarian aid that will be shared between Ukraine and Gaza, among others. The House minority leader has long been supportive of Ukraine’s effort, which he called successful, citing the 300,000 casualties among the Russian army, which is about 80% of the force.
“I think that if we allow Ukraine to falter because we don’t continue our support, then we are likely in the fight with Russia because of our NATO Article Five obligations,” Jeffries said. “‘Cause we know Putin won’t stop in Ukraine. He’ll likely invade a NATO ally, and now American troops are in Europe. That’s something that we should avoid.”
The Article Five reference comes from the agreement that should any NATO ally come under attack, all other allies should consider it an attack on all members and respond accordingly. The treaty was established in 1949, following the Second World War.
Jeffries said the war between Ukraine and Russia is not a territorial dispute but “a fight between democracy and autocracy, a fight between freedom and tyranny, a fight between truth and propaganda.”
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“Ukraine, the United States of America, the free world, should stand on the side of democracy,” Jeffries said. “And that’s what we have been doing in supporting the Ukrainian war effort.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) indicated the bill will not pass in the Republican-controlled House in a “Dear Colleague” letter Friday. Johnson’s interpretation of the bill came from a draft, which he referred to as “dead on arrival.”
