Gaetz accuses McCarthy of making ‘Ukraine deal with Democrats’ in passing stopgap

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) accused House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) of making a “Ukraine deal with Democrats” after passing the 45-day continuing resolution, which did not include funding for Ukraine.

Gaetz pointed to a joint statement from House Democratic leadership, where they said they “expect Speaker McCarthy to advance a bill to the House floor for an up-or-down vote that supports Ukraine.”

SENATE PASSES 45-DAY STOPGAP MEASURE IN TIME TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“Wow. [McCarthy] made a side Ukraine deal with Democrats and didn’t tell House Republicans until after his Continuing Resolution passed. More deceit,” Gaetz wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

While Gaetz appears to think McCarthy will bring a Ukraine funding bill to the floor, not every Republican is convinced. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), a major critic of Ukraine funding, told reporters Saturday night he does not believe McCarthy will bring Ukraine funding to the floor.

“I think Speaker McCarthy recognizes that his membership, the majority of the House Republicans said that we don’t want Ukraine funding as part of additional government funding. So I don’t think that there is enough interest over there to actually make this happen from the House Republican side. Of course, as you guys know, there are various big vehicles that Democrats can use to sort of migrate something over to the House, but it’s not going to be something that’s driven by the House,” Vance said.

Gaetz, along with 90 other House Republicans, voted against the continuing resolution but the bill passed overwhelmingly 335-91. The stopgap without Ukraine funding also passed in the Senate, by a 88-9 vote.

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Senate leaders in a joint statement late Saturday said they expect to have a bill on Ukraine funding “in the coming weeks.” President Joe Biden also expressed his expectation that McCarthy will bring Ukraine funding to the House floor in a statement late Saturday.

“While the speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support. We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment,” Biden said.