The war between Russia and Ukraine continues to dominate foreign policy as American lawmakers discuss how the United States should respond. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump (R) argued that, if he were president, the war would come to an end within 24 hours. This sparked the rebuke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In response to Ukraine joining NATO, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz (R) is speaking against the move.
Waltz has been a critic of the aid that the United States has provided for Ukraine, arguing that European countries should be providing more.
During an interview with CNN, the Florida Republican laid out several reasons as to why Ukraine should not be allowed to join NATO, citing that the move would only cause the U.S. to become further involved in the war.
“It would bring us immediately into the war Ukraine is actively fighting,” Waltz shared on social media, adding that “until all members live up to their commitment (only 9 out of 32 members are contributing 2% of their GDP), no further expansion should occur.”
Waltz further commented that “any new member should be able to contribute to the collective defense.”
The war has been a contention topic of discussion among Republicans with some arguing that the U.S. should be doing more while others argue that the U.S. is doing enough already. This has caused considerable backlash on the campaign trail.
Most recently, during a campaign event in South Carolina for President Trump, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R) was met with boos over his stance on the war. This caused President Trump to respond to the negative feedback, commenting that he would have to work on the likeability that Senator Graham has with his [Trump] voters.
Trump has not responded to President Zelensky’s comments after affirming that the war would immediately end if he were elected president, but Vice President Mike Pence (R) assured, during an interview with Fox News, that the Trump Administration was “strong” on Russia.
