Some members of Congress are demanding transparency from the White House and the Pentagon
A resolution demanding President Joe Biden and the Defense Department inform Congress of troop deployments in Ukraine and plans for future military aid was approved on Friday by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives.
The committee voted along party lines, 22-20, in favor of the proposal by Congressman Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican. Gaetz called the vote a \u201cbig win for accountability\u201d and accused Democrats of being afraid of \u201ctruth and transparency on aid to Ukraine.\u201d
Under the terms of his privileged resolution, the White House and the Pentagon would have 14 days to send the House \u201ccopies of all documents indicating any plans for current or future military assistance to Ukraine and documents indicating whether any US Armed Forces, including special operations forces, are currently deployed in Ukraine.\u201d
During the debate on the resolution, earlier this week, members of Biden\u2019s party accused Gaetz of serving the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin, \u201camplifying Russian propaganda\u201d and threatening the bipartisan consensus in Congress that support for Ukraine must be \u201cunwavering and indefinite.\u201d
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Congresswoman Kathy Manning, a North Carolina Democrat, called the resolution \u201cdivisive and ill-advised\u201d as well as \u201ca partisan political ploy\u201d that endangers the national security of the US, its allies in Europe, and \u201cthe courageous Ukrainian people.\u201d Her colleague Gerry Connolly of Virginia accused Gaetz of wanting to force a peace on Kiev, and argued that there might be a time for oversight, \u201cbut now is not that time.\u201d
Florida Republican Cory Mills, a military veteran, countered that the resolution was not against supporting Ukraine, but ensuring there is no \u201cmission creep\u201d like with Afghanistan or Iraq, where he spent a total of ten years and got \u201cblown up twice.\u201d
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Proposing the resolution earlier this month, Gaetz pointed to the leaked Pentagon documents to accuse Biden of \u201cmisleading the world on the state of the war in Ukraine\u201d and demanding \u201ctotal transparency\u201d when it comes to risking \u201cwar with a nuclear adversary.\u201d
The resolution now goes to the House floor, where Republicans have a slim majority. However, a significant faction within the party agrees with the Democrats and the White House on unconditional support for Kiev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n