GOP Rep. Garcia: Ukraine Aid Is Worthwhile But Can't Be at the Expense of our Security and It's Starting to

On Friday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) stated that there has been a return on investment from the aid supplied to Ukraine and protecting American security and helping Ukraine survive and weaken Russia, but President Joe Biden “seems to be more interested in the security and the borders of Ukraine than our own security and our own borders,” and “it’s starting to feel like this is coming at the expense of our own security” in light of warnings from defense officials that the U.S. might have to choose between its own stockpiles and arming Ukraine.

Garcia said, “I think we have seen a meaningful ROI. The nation of Ukraine exists, Zelensky’s alive, Putin’s been taken down a few notches on the international stage, but also internally within his own government, and most importantly, I think the thing that we’ve — the collateral benefit we’ve gotten out of this is that China and Xi Jinping have slowed down their aspirations of annexing Taiwan. And I think, fundamentally, right now, what most Americans are struggling with is we want to support Ukraine, we want to see Ukraine win, but we don’t want that to be the priority over our own security and that win come at the expense of our own security. And we’ve got a President right now who seems to be more interested in the security and the borders of Ukraine than our own security and our own borders, in this case, the southern border of the United States. And I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive. They can be both addressed. We can help the Ukrainians survive and win and ultimately take what used to be a peer threat down a few notches, but we can also look after our own security and what concerns me is it’s starting to feel like this is coming at the expense of our own security.”

He added that “when the secretary of the Navy says, hey, we’ve got to make a choice between Ukrainian security and our own security over the next few months, that raises a lot of red flags. And for me, I want the secretary of defense to explain to Congress how he’s going to make sure that he’s prioritizing our security without compromising that, while he’s clearly focusing on Ukraine right now.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett