Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is distancing herself from most of her colleagues on Capitol Hill by warning Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia, and she opposes sending more arms that will only cause more suffering and a bigger refugee crisis.
Mrs. Greene, Georgia Republican, said it is not the responsibility of the U.S. to give President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people “false hope.”
“If we truly care about suffering and death on our television screens we cannot fund more of it by sending money and weaponry to Ukraine to fight a war they cannot possibly win,” she said in a social media post. “The only effect of more arms and more money from America will be to prolong the war and magnify human suffering.”
Mr. Zelenskyy delivered an urgent appeal to Congress this week, pleading for more robust military support and likening the Russian assault on Ukraine to Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mr. Zelenskyy has urged the U.S. to help facilitate the transfer of Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, a move President Biden has resisted.
He also intensified calls for NATO countries to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to thwart the onslaught of Russian airstrikes that have pummeled Ukrainian cities. Mr. Biden and most Congress members on both sides of the aisle oppose the idea for fear of expanding the war with Russia.
Congress last week approved a $1.5 trillion government funding bill that includes $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine, which is set aside for humanitarian, defense and economic assistance.
The bill passed the House on a 221-171 vote, with 39 Republicans joining Democrats in passing the measure. It passed the Senate on a 68-31 vote, with 18 Republicans joining Democrats.
Indeed, lawmakers from both parties have been eager to provide Ukraine with more assistance.
Mrs. Greene voted against the massive spending bill that included the aid.
She also said the nation should be focused on brokering a peace deal. Mrs. Greene said that it is too risky for the nation to get involved.
“We can do all this without sending a dime and without shipping bombs to further inflame a war whose outcome already seems certain,” she said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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