McCarthy Out: US Running out of Money to Fund Ukrainian Troops’ Salaries

By Staff, Agencies 

The historic ousting of House speaker Kevin McCarthy adds further uncertainty to the outlook for US aid to Ukraine, after support for Kiev was excluded from the recent US government funding bill, leaving Joe Biden to rely on the Republican speaker for a separate deal.

The US president said at the weekend that US support for Ukraine could not be interrupted “under any circumstances” and that he fully expected McCarthy “to keep his commitment to secure the passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend themselves against aggression and brutality”.

The need to shore up support for Kiev has become more pressing, with Adm Rob Bauer, NATO’s most senior military official, saying on Tuesday “the bottom of the barrel is now visible”, with Ukraine said to be firing thousands of shells – many of which come from NATO – every day.

The White House said on Tuesday it was confident the US would ultimately provide more assistance for Ukraine, no matter the fate of McCarthy’s speakership, but with McCarthy out, attention has now turned to the views of his potential successors.

Representative Steve Scalise, the No 2 House Republican, has long been favored to take over as speaker after McCarthy, and received a B, a step up from McCarthy’s B-minus grade. However, hard-right Republican Matt Gaetz, who led the push to oust McCarthy and has said he would support Scalise, received an F.

House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan and hardline rising star Representative Byron Donalds also received Fs.

Representative Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip, got the highest rating, an A.

Washington has sent the Kiev government $113bn in security, economic and humanitarian aid since Russia started its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Leaders in the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by the Democrats, have promised to take up legislation in the coming weeks to ensure continued US security and economic support for Ukraine.

Biden convened a call with the leaders of allied countries, the EU and the NATO military alliance on Tuesday about continuing coordinated support for Ukraine, amid concerns that support for Kiev’s war effort against Russia was fading.

Meanwhile, the New York-based Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the Pentagon, White House, and Ukrainian officials have warned that without a fresh infusion of funds from the US Congress, the US-led Western war against Russia will be lost and Moscow will gain territories once again.

According to the WSJ article, currently, the US and other donor nations cover the salaries of 150,000 civil servants in Ukraine, as well as more than half a million educators and school staff, in addition to various government costs, including healthcare and housing subsidies.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell back in September that Ukraine would face a significant economic and political crisis during their counteroffensive against Russia this autumn if Congress halted aid to Kiev.