Conservatives launch $2 million ad campaign urging GOP to back Biden request for Ukraine aid
Cami Mondeaux
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A prominent conservative political group is launching a $2 million ad campaign urging Republicans in Congress to provide additional military aid to Ukraine despite the party remaining split on whether to continue supporting the war-torn country.
The Defending Democracy Together group will begin airing ads related to the campaign on Tuesday, which are expected to run throughout the rest of the year. The campaign, called “Republicans for Ukraine,” will feature testimony from GOP voters as they urge their representatives to continue supporting Ukraine amid a Russian invasion.
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“It’s long been the Republican Party tradition and history to support democracy around the world,” one voter said in an ad spot.
“I support giving aid to Ukraine because they are fighting the battle for democracy for the rest of the world,” another said.
The ads will appear on various platforms online as well as on national television, including during the first GOP presidential debate on Fox News next week.
The campaign comes less than one week after President Joe Biden unveiled his highly anticipated request to Congress seeking an additional $24 billion to boost military assistance in Ukraine. The request seeks $13 billion to go toward security assistance with another $7.3 billion toward economic and humanitarian efforts, setting the stage for a battle with House Republicans who have been wary of providing more economic assistance.
Several Republican lawmakers have already expressed opposition to the proposal, noting it’s an “absolute nonstarter” for many conservatives.
“People are completely against spending more money to Ukraine, with all of our existing problems here at home,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner last week. “And so my role will be being a very loud voice, urging my colleagues in Congress to vote no. And making sure that everyone knows which Republicans want to send their hard-earned tax dollars over to Ukraine, which Democrats want.”
That sentiment is also being felt among GOP voters as recent polling shows the amount of support among Republicans to provide financial assistance has shrunk over the last year. Roughly 62% of Democrats support contributing increased aid to Ukraine compared to just 28% of Republicans, according to a study from the Brookings Institution.
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It’s likely the legislation will receive support from House Democrats, with several members already praising Biden for his efforts to support Ukraine while also seeking to address the flow of fentanyl across the southern border.
However, it remains unclear whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will bring the proposal to the floor for a vote, vowing earlier this year that any Ukraine-related funding must come through the regular appropriations process rather than a supplemental aid request.