OMB chief confident Ukraine aid will come through

Oct 01, 2023

Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said Sunday she’s confident that Congress continue providing funding to Ukraine, even though the 45-day stopgap funding bill passed this weekend left aid to the warring country in jeopardy.

“We’ve seen the majority of Congress still supports Ukraine. We’ve seen that the majority of Congress understands what’s at stake in Ukraine,” Young said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “Who are you for, Western democratic values or dictators like Vladimir Putin?”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stripped aid to Ukraine from the last-minute funding bill he brought up Saturday under pressure from members of his caucus who have increasingly turned against providing support to the country as it fights to push Russian forces out of its territory. McCarthy decided that a “clean” funding bill was the only way to avoid a shutdown.

The exclusion was a blow to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Joe Biden, who has made Ukraine a priority in office and in his reelection campaign.

On Saturday the White House downplayed the omission. “Speaker McCarthy has stated his support for aid to Ukraine,” one White House official told POLITICO, adding that they expected him to bring a separate bill to the floor “shortly.”

“I’m confident because I’ve seen the proof in both, of Republicans and Democrats who have voted to make sure we keep our commitment. Those votes are there,” Young said Sunday. “We know there’s a willing coalition, and I’ll certainly expect members and the speaker to keep their commitment, not to us, but the Ukrainian people we told we will be there.”

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