(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Biden administration is considering exploiting a taxpayer-funded grant program within the State Department to provide additional military aid to Ukraine.
This contentious decision comes on the heels of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ousting as House speaker, which has left Ukrainian officials panicking about the future of their U.S. taxpayer-funded donations.
According to a Thursday report by Politico, individuals within the federal government acknowledged that a program designed to provide grants and loans to partner countries for the purchase of weapons could soon be tapped by Biden.
Biden himself hinted at the program on Oct. 4, the news outlet added. “We can support Ukraine in the next tranche that we need,” he claimed. “And there is another means by which we may be able to find funding for that. But I’m not going to do that now.”
The Biden administration has a track record of repurposing funds meant for specific policies. Notably, Biden expanded a student loan forgiveness program meant for U.S. veterans to include individuals who had not served. Critics have accused him of trying to buy votes through such programs.
The plan was ultimately blocked by a federal court, which ruled that the U.S. Congress exclusively appropriated the funds for U.S. servicemen—not for Biden’s political plan.
The ruling, however, clearly did not deter the Biden administration from doing the same for Ukraine aid. “Reprogramming is always an option for urgent needs. At this time right now, though, to my knowledge, no decision has been made on using reprogramming as a way to support Ukraine security assistance,” said Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder. “We remain committed to working with Congress on the Ukraine supplemental and receiving a full budget.”
This development has Ukraine on edge, especially after House Republicans, with the support of the Democratic caucus, ousted McCarthy due to his undying support for Ukrainian aid.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, a Ukrainian MP and chair of the committee overseeing Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, expressed her concerns, claiming, “We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster.” Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak went even further, calling the situation, “nothing good, but, objectively, we have simply become hostages of their internal politics.”
