The House of Representatives rebels loosely called the “Freedom Caucus” got a series of promises from new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy which are being decried by British and some U.S. media as a threat to U.S. military aid to Ukraine. American-based media such as Bloomberg News (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-06/mccarthy-s-emerging-speaker-deal-tees-up-75-billion-defense-cut ), Politico, and Responsible Statecraft (https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/01/06/mccarthy-weighing-75b-defense-budget-cut-in-quest-for-speakership/) are more specifically flagging a $75 billion cut to defense in the FY2024 budget, on which negotiations have started. The London Telegraph Jan. 9 reported flatly that McCarthy had won the last few votes he needed by promising legislation to limit economic and military aid to Ukraine.
This cut, demanded by some of the 20 or so rebellious GOP Members-elect such as Thomas Massie, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene, would be to the FY2022 level, and thus a $75 billion defense cut from the current provisional FY2023 omnibus, equaling a $100 billion or more cut from the FY2024 defense spending level otherwise likely to be enacted. Aid to Ukraine would be the bullseye of that target. Rep. Jim Jordan, on “Fox News Sunday” Jan. 8, said, referring to total U.S. federal debt, “When you’ve got numbers like that, frankly, we better look at the money we send to Ukraine as well.”
Not only did RT write up the Telegraph story ("New US House chief makes pledge on Ukraine aid – media.” https://www.rt.com/news/569573-mccarthy-pledges-ukraine-aid-cut/); Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Relations, wrote on his Telegram channel: “A good opportunity has opened up to influence the end of [the] Ukraine and, indeed, a larger-scale conflict, though not for the sake of the good of peace as such, but to win political points. Let’s see if this is a campaign promise to voters who don’t understand where their money is being spent….” Al Mayadeen quoted Slutsky that were Republicans to block the uncontrolled flow of money to Ukraine, this “will also reduce the enthusiasm of neo-Nazis.”
