Zelensky Doesn’t Appear to Convince Republicans on Ukraine Aid During Congress Visit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky encountered stern opposition from Senate Republicans on Tuesday as he sought approval for billions of dollars in additional U.S. military assistance for Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia.
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00:00 President Zelensky, what are the stakes today?
00:05 What are the stakes today for your country?
00:10 Very good and productive meeting.
00:15 Thank you all for being here.
00:19 Just had a good meeting with President Zelensky.
00:21 I reiterated to him that we stand with him and against Putin's brutal invasion.
00:26 The American people stand for freedom and they're on the right side of this fight.
00:30 I have asked the White House since the day that I was handed the gavel as Speaker for clarity.
00:37 We need a clear articulation of the strategy to allow Ukraine to win.
00:42 And thus far, their responses have been insufficient.
00:45 They have not provided us the clarity and the detail that we requested over and over
00:50 since literally 24 hours after I was handed the gavel as Speaker of the House.
00:54 And so what the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars
00:59 with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win,
01:03 and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed.
01:06 I've also made very clear from day one that our first condition on any national security supplemental spending package
01:13 is about our own national security first.
01:16 The border is an absolute catastrophe.
01:19 And this is because of the policies of this White House and this administration.
01:22 It is not the House's issue right now.
01:25 The issue is with the White House and the Senate.
01:27 And I implore them to do their job because the time is urgent and we do want to do the right thing here.
01:32 I think the Speaker has said to a number of people that he can speak for himself,
01:36 but he's apparently said to a number of people they're leaving at the end of the week.
01:41 So all I have said is practically impossible, even though we reach an agreement to craft it,
01:50 get it through the Senate, get it through the House before Christmas.
01:54 That doesn't mean it's not important.
01:56 And even though we've been emphasizing the border, I want to remind everybody of the importance of Ukraine.
02:05 We heard from the president today.
02:08 He is inspirational.
02:11 They have fought, one of our biggest adversaries, for almost two years now.
02:18 We're not losing track of that.
02:21 It's just that border security applies to us as well.
02:26 And that's why we've emphasized so much that subject in the last few days.
02:31 This morning, Leader McConnell and I welcomed President Zelensky to the Senate,
02:36 his third visit to the Capitol, in a meeting like no other.
02:40 He was extremely persuasive.
02:43 This is a moment we must meet.
02:46 If Ukraine falls, it will be a historic, colossal tragedy.
02:52 Historians will look back on this, not two weeks from now, but years from now,
02:57 and say this was one of the turning points where Western civilization took a dramatic turn downward,
03:03 where the U.S. abandoned its ally.
03:05 I wish Republicans thought that funding for Ukraine was as important as they have said it is.
03:12 I wish that they were not demanding that we settle one of the most difficult and vexing
03:18 domestic political issues in order to save Ukraine and Europe.
03:24 But we remain at the table.
03:26 We have put serious proposals on the table that respond to Republican concerns.
03:34 And now is the time for Republicans to get in closing mode.
03:39 We don't have time on our side.
03:42 I called Speaker Johnson last night and urged him to stay.
03:47 I spoke to Leader McConnell right after the Zelensky meeting and urged him to stay.
03:53 It's an emergency.
03:55 As so many Republicans have said on the border and many have said about Ukraine,
03:59 you don't go home for three weeks.
04:02 It'll be much harder to do in January.
04:04 Everyone admits that than it is today.
04:06 today.