Almost half in new poll say too much money is going to Ukraine

Nearly half of U.S. adults say too much funding is going to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Opposition to aid, however, is down from last month and seems to be driven by a decline in opposition from Republicans.

In the latest poll from The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs, 45 percent of those surveyed said the U.S. government is spending too much on aid to Ukraine, down from 52 percent in October.

Republican opposition to aid, however, remains strong, with 59 percent of GOP respondents saying the government is spending too much on aid. That’s down from 69 percent who said the same in October.

Meanwhile, 38 percent of respondents said current spending is “about the right amount,” up slightly from October. Among Republicans, nearly 30 percent said spending is about right, up from 20 percent last month.

Support for Ukraine appears to be more robust among Democrats across a swath of categories. Nearly half of the public, 48 percent, supports providing weapons to Ukraine — 57 percent of Democrats and 42 percent of Republicans.

About 2 in 5 U.S. adults support sending government funds directly to Ukraine — 54 percent of Democrats and 24 percent of Republicans.

Congress has yet to pass the White House’s emergency supplemental request for funds for national security, Ukraine aid and Israel aid. That package would include $61 billion for Ukraine, which the Biden administration said is necessary for the war-torn country.

The AP-NORC poll was conducted Nov. 2-6 among 1,239 adults, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.