Support for Ukraine in the 118th Congress

The panel was moderated by veteran ABC White House correspondent Ann Compton and featured Republican strategist Barry Jackson, who had served as Speaker John Boehner’s chief-of-staff and Assistant to President George W. Bush for political affairs, and Michael LaRosa, who had served Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Special Assistant to the President and Press Secretary to First Lady Jill Biden.

Ann Compton began the panel by having Michael tell the story of Frist Lady Jill Biden’s trip to Ukraine.  Biden had made the determination she wanted to visit Ukrainian mothers and children in refugee centers on Mother’s Day and to meet with Ukrainian Frist Lady Zelenskyy.  It was a fascinating insider’s story of those meetings and the extraordinary security concerns as Biden’s motorcade was significantly reduced for the final leg into the Ukrainian war zone to minimize the First Lady’s footprint for the meeting of the two SUVs and the emotional greeting between the two First Ladies – an historic moment.

In looking to Ukraine’s support in the 118^th Congress Barry Jackson felt fears Ukraine would not have bipartisan support are overplayed.  In looking at the House he thought the biggest concern on the Democratic side with the progressive hesitancies would be the absence of Nancy Pelosi as the party’s leader.  She has been both a strong supporter of democracies and human rights and a very strong leader who controlled her caucus when it mattered. How the new Democrat leader, Hakeem Jeffries, will handle such issues is an unknown.

On the Republican side Jackson felt that the critical Republican committee chairs – Armed Services, Appropriations, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence – are firm supporters of Ukraine and will control the key legislation.  He felt the difference next year would be the House insisting on more accountability, not the reducing of support.

Michael expressed confidence the Democrats in both the House and Senate would strongly support Ukraine in the 118^th and he noted that President Biden’s recent request for additional funds for Ukraine is a funding-forward, designed to get significant funding through Congress this year so that there is time to deal with any hesitancies next year in the Republican majority House of Representatives.

A critical point made mostly by Jackson was that the Administration must use its bully-pulpit to make the American national security interest case for supporting Ukraine, on the Hill and to the American public.  He was critical that the Administration has not made this overwhelmingly powerful case to either Congress or the public.  House Republicans may press the Administration to do so through hearings, not to criticize Ukraine support, but to make the Administration make the case.