Cheney: ‘McCarthy is going to make himself the leader of the pro-Putin wing’ of GOP

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Sunday slammed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for suggesting a Republican-controlled Congress would not guarantee additional military aid for Ukraine, accusing him of aligning with Russia and seeking “political gain.”

Cheney told NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd that McCarthy “always chooses to serve his own political purpose.”

“The notion that now Kevin McCarthy is going to make himself the leader of the pro-Putin wing of my party is just a stunning thing,” she said, referencing Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It’s dangerous, he knows better.”

Last week, McCarthy said there would be no “blank check” to Ukraine if Republicans win control of Congress after the midterm elections.

“I think Ukraine is very important. I support making sure that we move forward to defeat Russia in that program. But there should be no blank check on anything. We are $31 trillion in debt,” the GOP leader told CNBC. “We’ve got to eliminate the wasteful spending in Washington.”

A majority of Republicans supports Ukraine in its defense against Russia, but a small faction have voiced disapproval with sending more and more money to the embattled nation.

 In May, 57 House Republicans voted against a $40 billion security supplemental for Ukraine and some expressed concerns about the $12.2 billion tacked onto a stopgap funding bill this fall because only a minority of the funds were used for defense aid.

Ukrainians are waiting to see what the results of the midterm elections will be as a Republican Congress may be more skeptical of the massive supply of funding they have relied on.

Cheney, who has split with former President Trump and a majority of Republicans on the causes of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, said on Sunday it mystifies her how McCarthy would not completely support a nation’s fight for freedom.

“The fact that he’s willing to go down the path of suggesting America will no longer stand for freedom, I think tells you he’s willing to sacrifice everything for political gain,” Cheney, who was defeated in an August primary, said.