Former national security adviser Robert O'Brien said he backs House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's comments about the U.S. not writing a "blank check" to Ukraine, The Hill reported.
O'Brien, who served during the Trump administration, said strong military and economic support for the war-torn nation is necessary, but said it should come with strict oversight.
"We should continue to be extraordinarily generous with the Ukrainians, but we need to make sure that the arms we supply Ukraine don't end up in Russian hands or end up in some other government's hands," O'Brien said. "We must ensure that these platforms are used efficiently and properly by the Ukrainian military."
O'Brien also said reconstruction aid needs to be accounted for.
"I don't see a problem with Leader McCarthy's statement," he said. "Some people have used it to say the GOP does not support Ukraine. That is simply not the case."
But with Republicans set to take over the House — and the federal government's purse strings — in January when the 118th Congress convenes, such robust spending, especially with the U.S. mired in an economic and border crisis, might not be as easy to come by.
McCarthy, a California Republican, had said in October that GOP lawmakers won't write a blank check to Ukraine if Republicans regained the majority.
O'Brien told The Hill: "Leader McCarthy is right, we shouldn't be giving a blank check to any nation. I wouldn't give the U.K. or Australia a blank check. We must ensure that the aid the American taxpayers give to Ukraine is being used properly and that we eliminate fraud, waste, abuse and corruption."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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