Rep. Thomas Massie explains why he skipped Zelensky speech
Misty Severi
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) skipped a Wednesday night address on Capitol Hill from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to protest the billions in aid the United States has given during the war.
Massie claimed U.S. taxpayers were “conscripted” into donating the assistance, even as high inflation remains a problem for many families.
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“I’m in DC but I will not be attending the speech of the Ukrainian lobbyist,” Massie tweeted minutes before the foreign leader’s speech. “It is not charity. Charity would be given freely. The American taxpayers have been conscripted into making welfare payments to this foreign government.”
In his speech, Zelensky praised Congress for sending financial assistance for the war and claimed that the funds support democracy and global security. An additional $45 billion in aid is pending in the Senate as part of a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill that would fund the government through October. However, Massie is not supportive of the proposed omnibus.
Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Mike Lee (R-UT) also skipped Zelensky’s remarks and do not support another multibillion-dollar aid package, according to NBC News. Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) were present at the speech but did not give the Ukrainian leader a standing ovation.
“I want to thank you, all of you. I thank every American family. … I thank President Biden and both parties in the Senate and the House for your invaluable assistance from everyone who’s now at the front line,” Zelensky said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he believes Republicans who oppose more Ukraine aid are “in the distinct minority.”
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“There’s no domestic problem that gets better with Russia winning in Ukraine,” Graham told reporters Wednesday morning.
The speech followed Zelensky’s visit to the White House to meet with Biden, in which the president announced the next $2 billion security assistance installment, including a Patriot missile battery. The U.S. has committed almost $20 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in late February.