Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in an interview airing Sunday that he sides with President Biden on the matter of bundling Ukraine and Israel aid together — while noting their opposing views on domestic issues.
CBS’s Margaret Brennan asked McConnell on “Face the Nation” whether it was possible to pass additional aid to Ukraine without it being tied to Israel, as some Republicans are hesitant to approve more aid to Ukraine.
“I just think that’s a mistake,” McConnell responded. “I mean, I know there are some Republicans in the Senate, and maybe more in the House, saying Ukraine is somehow different. I view it as all interconnected.”
McConnell also pushed back on other Republicans who are hesitant to approve more aid for Ukraine, saying that the aid is actually being spent more in the U.S. when ramping up production for the weapons.
“No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. We’re rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think it’s wonderful that they’re defending themselves — and also the notion that the Europeans are not doing enough,” he said.
He also said he and Biden are “generally in the same place” when it comes to funding Ukraine and Israel, and he agreed that he and the president are similar in their worldview but not so much in other ways.
“Well, not on the domestic side, but on this issue that we — we’re discussing today, we’re generally in the same place,” McConnell said.
The U.S. already provides a significant amount of assistance to Israel every year. It allocates about $3.8 billion to the nation per year, which is part of a 10-year memorandum of understanding that totals to $38 billion. Biden announced last week that he’s sending an urgent budget request to Congress for additional aid to Israel and Ukraine, which is expected to amount to $100 billion.
“When we use the money allocated by Congress, we use it to replenish our own stores, our own stockpile with new equipment,” the president said last week. “Equipment that defends America and is made in America. Patriot missiles for air defense batteries, made in Arizona. Artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country — Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas. There’s so much more.”