Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), the body’s only Ukrainian-born member, was a staunch advocate for more aid to her home country in the wake of the Russian invasion in 2022. She’s lost family members during this conflict, but when the vote for a new $60 billion package is brought to the floor—she’s not voting for it. She wants the Biden administration to focus more on domestic problems, wants a clearer plan with how aid should be distributed, and says new aid packages should be treated as loans. Spartz is also facing a crowded GOP primary, and her district is not so keen on more war aid to Ukraine (via WSJ):
Rep. Victoria Spartz speaks in highly personal terms about the horrors that her friends and family in Ukraine have witnessed since Russia invaded her home country more than two years ago. Her 95-year-old grandmother died several months after a bomb blew out the windows in her apartment. “The stress was hard on her,” she said.
But when it comes to the U.S. sending billions in more aid to the beleaguered country, Spartz is skeptical. The Indiana Republican, who is one of the House’s most colorful personalities, said she doesn’t support the Senate’s recently passed package that includes $60 billion in Ukraine-related spending along with funds for Israel and Taiwan. Additional money for Ukraine is expected to get a vote in some form in the House this spring.
Spartz’s opposition to the bipartisan bill is a stark example of the divisions among Republicans in Congress over further assistance to Kyiv amid opposition from many GOP voters. In a series of interviews, Spartz, 45 years old, said she wants a clearer strategy from President Biden on U.S. involvement in the war and a closer eye on how aid is spent. She also wants any aid sent to Ukraine to be offered as a loan, and for the administration to pay more attention to issues closer to home.
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Spartz announced in February 2023 that she planned to quit Congress, saying she wanted to spend more time with her two daughters. But she reversed her decision a year later, in part because she doesn’t think any of the Republican candidates campaigning for her seat would do a good job.
She now heads into a crowded GOP primary, scheduled for May 7. Top Republican rival Chuck Goodrich, a wealthy state lawmaker who runs an Indianapolis electrical-contracting company, has spent more than $1.5 million on ads, some of which attack Spartz for her past Ukraine aid vote.
Regarding international ventures, the more pressing one is helping Israel defeat Hamas in Gaza. That is a war where we can see tangible gains, whereas Ukraine remains stuck in neutral, with men and materials being chucked into a meat grinder. There is no end in sight. With Gaza, Israel is closing in on mopping up the remains of the Hamas network in the region. Once Rafah falls, the organization is effectively smashed after nearly 20 years of dominance in the Gaza Strip. The point is there is light at the end of the tunnel regarding this conflict. In Kiev, not so much.