McCarthy Reverses Decision to Strip Ukraine Aid From Bill

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reversed his decision to remove Ukraine aid from the Pentagon funding bill on Saturday, one day after he said he would strip the money out over objections from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, McCarthy said he changed his mind on the $300 million earmarked for Ukraine after realizing that a measure that funds the State Department and Foreign Operations and is set to come up next week also includes money appropriated for the war-torn Eastern European country.

The Hill reports that the House is expected to vote on advancing four appropriations bills next week, including the two that contain money for Ukraine.

“That’s not solving it because one of the others has some Ukraine things,” McCarthy said of stripping the aid for Ukraine out of the Pentagon funding bill. “So it became too difficult to do that so we’re leaving it in.”

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., told The Hill that the House would also vote on amendments to axe the Ukraine aid from both the Pentagon and State Department and Foreign Operations appropriations measures. Those votes are contingent on whether lawmakers block the bills from debate, however.

With Greene set against additional Ukraine funding, McCarthy’s decision to leave the Kyiv aid in the pair of appropriations bills will likely draw criticism from the Georgia firebrand. On Thursday, the congresswoman opposed a procedural vote to advance the Pentagon funding bill because it included money for Ukraine, according to The Hill.

McCarthy said he expects opposition from Greene.

“I think Marjorie still has a problem,” McCarthy told reporters.

“I think she’ll vote no on the rule if it’s in there, that’s why I was trying to solve it where everybody could be there,” he added later. “But this one, it didn’t work out.”