Explained: Kevin McCarthy’s ‘deal’ with right-wing on Ukraine spending and why it may haunt him

It took Kevin McCarthy 15 votes over four contentious days to secure what he’d been dreaming of for years – the position of Speaker of the House.Along the way, McCarthy had to make several concessions to the far-right wing of his party including reportedly vowing to cut funding to Ukraine, which is currently fending off an invasion by Russia.Let’s take a closer look at how Ukraine figured in McCarthy's bid for US House Speaker and why such a deal may yet haunt him:What happened?As per The Telegraph UK, McCarthy won over prominent conservative figures opposed his bid by vowing to pass a bill limiting financial and military aid to Ukraine.Details of the backroom dealings between McCarthy and the far-right House members remain scant.But what we do know is that the Republicans have announced that they will cap discretionary spending at fiscal levels of 2022 or even lower, as per Politico.That’s a massive 10 per cent cut to defence programmes – which translates to roughly $75 billion.This, as conservative House member Matt Gaetz, arguably the highest-profile holdout against McCarthy and who even hurled personal insults at him on the House floor, ultimately voted for him.Gaetz is a member of the ‘Freedom Caucus’ and an avowed sceptic of the US sending money to Ukraine.

Gaetz explained his change of heart on McCarthy’s Speakership by saying he ‘ran out of things to ask for.’

Gaetz, in response to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech to US Congress last month, tweeted: “President Zelenskyy should be commended for putting his country first, but American politicians who indulge his requests are unwilling to do the same for ours.”[caption id="attachment_11945332" align="alignnone" width="640"] Representative Matt Gaetz was a high-profile holdout on  Kevin McCarthy's bid for Speaker and even lobbied insults at him on the House floor. AP[/caption]“Hemorrhaging billions in taxpayer dollars for Ukraine while our country is in crisis is the definition of America last. He did not change my stance on suspending aid for Ukraine and investigating fraud in transfers already made.”US aid to UkraineAs per Axios, the United States has sent Kyiv $24.2 billion in security aid since Russia invaded Ukraine.German research institute Kiel Institute for the World Economy puts the figure sent by the Biden administration and Congress at closer to $50 billion, as per CFR.org.

But Reuters pegs that figure at $100 billion.

The Biden administration in January, with a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives looming, had announced over $3.75 billion in military assistance for Ukraine, European allies, and partners.Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said in a statement, “This assistance includes a $2.85 billion drawdown from stocks of the Department of Defense to be provided immediately to Ukraine and $225 million in Foreign Military Financing to build the long-term capacity and support modernisation of Ukraine’s military.”In December, the US House of Representatives approved a $45 billion aid package to Ukraine.Zelenskyy at the time had in a tweet thanking Congress and leaders of both parties, said it was “crucial” that Americans are “side-by-side” with Ukrainians “in this struggle.”Collision courseMcCarthy in October ahead of the US mid-terms had warned that Republicans will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine if they win back the House majority.“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” McCarthy told Punchbowl News. “They just won’t do it. … It’s not a free blank check.”The problem for McCarthy and the far-right is that such vows of reducing defence spending puts them on a collision course with not only the Biden administration, but also hawks within the GOP.Which makes sense why Brian Fitzpatrick, who represented McCarthy in the negotiations, described some of their goals as ‘aspirational’, as per Politico.Politico quoted Don Bacon of Nebraska as telling reporters, “Most of us won’t vote for cuts to defence. You can bring it to the floor. There’s enough Republicans who are not going to cut defence spending.”Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher added, “There’s a ton of defence hawks that are necessary to get to the math of 218.”The Pentagon is also pushing back.[caption id="attachment_11949272" align="alignnone" width="640"] Top Pentagon officials are pushing back against any funding cuts to Ukraine . AFP[/caption]Top DoD official Laura Cooper, who has managed billions in Congressional aid, was quoted as saying by USNews.com, “I’m still pushing forward and providing the Ukrainians with what they need, when they need it.”

“My day-to-day is not affected right now.”

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, added, “If you step back and look at the consequences of not supporting Ukraine, which was illegally invaded, what precedent does that set and how expensive would it be to address the kind of world we would live in should we not support Ukraine and countries like that?”McCarthy shouldn’t expect much help in the Senate either.Axios quoted Angus King, the Independent Senator from Maine, as telling CBS on Sunday that allegations of lack of accountability when it comes to oversight on the military aid sent to Ukraine simply don’t add up.King, a crucial vote in the Senate, recently travelled to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky.King in the aftermath of the trip told the outlet the Ukrainian president and top officials understand the importance of accountability.“They're working with Deloitte, the accounting firm. They're working with SAP software. They're accounting for every spare part that's coming into the country, plus, we have an inspector general from the Pentagon who's going over, I think, next month. "I was very impressed by the level of accountability, and so this argument that somehow the money's being wasted, I don't think holds water,” King told CBS.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.