House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will reportedly campaign against the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that Senate Republicans negotiated with Democrats.
McCarthy’s break with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will reportedly come at a GOP lunch meeting Wednesday, just a day after Senate leadership agreed to the omnibus, according to Punchbowl News. Congress is expected to give a final vote on the package later on Wednesday.
House Republicans like Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., have taken issue with specific aspects of the bill aside from its huge price tag. Bishop pointed to what he called a “sinister” portion of the bill that allots nearly $600 million to encourage “family planning” in places where human population growth threatens animal biodiversity.
“Malthusianism is a disturbing, anti-human ideology that should have ZERO place in any federal program,” Bishop wrote on Twitter.
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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) watch election results in a room with staffers at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 2022.
(Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters following a closed-door policy lunch, at the Capitol in Washington. On Monday, he said he has “great confidence” in Senate candidate Mehmet Oz.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Republican in-fighting over the spending bill comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy visits Washington, D.C. for the first time since Russia’s invasion began. The $1.7 trillion package also includes $45 billion in military funding for the war-torn country.
While McCarthy has called for more scrutiny on funding to Ukraine and an end to “blank checks,” McConnell says he is all-in on continuing to fund Ukraine’s defense.
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“Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the No. 1 priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa after their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 21, 2022.
((Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP))
Regardless of the fate of the omnibus, President Biden announced $1.85 billion in new aid for Ukriane on Wednesday, including a Patriot missile battery. Patriot missiles are the most advanced American air defense system.
Zelenskyy will address Congress Wednesday evening.
