McCarthy Walks Thin Line During Zelensky Trip After ‘No Blank Check’ Pledge

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s first trip abroad since the Russian invasion drew international attention on Wednesday night, but many were following another leader much closer during the historic visit to Washington D.C.

Political observers were watching to see how vocal House Republicans, who have been staunchly opposed to sending foreign aid to Ukraine, would behave once the Ukrainian president himself was on the Hill. Although reactions from far-right lawmakers were in line with what was anticipated, the careful words chosen by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy showed just how fine of a line the GOP leader will have to walk when it comes to Ukraine.

“I thought it’s a very good speech,” McCarthy told CNN after Zelensky’s address to the joint session. “He laid out a number of reasons why the free world wants to continue the fight. My position has never changed. I support Ukraine but I never support a blank check.”

McCarthy has repeatedly defended his position against sending “blank checks” to help Ukraine defeat Russia and insisted that there should be greater scrutiny over the congressional aid—a pledge he vows to see through when Republicans take the House in January.

Those remarks have been criticized by Democrats who accused McCarthy of being among the “spineless Putin Republicans” and who have argued that the California Republican has “no business leading.” McCarthy is the frontrunner in the bid to become the next House Speaker.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky greets lawmakers as he arrives to address a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on December 21, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Inset: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is seen ahead of Zelensky’s address. Chip Somodevilla/Mandel Ngan/AFP

While McCarthy has been critical over the billions of dollars that Congress has approved to send to Ukraine, he was not as visibly opposed to Zelensky’s Wednesday visit as some of his other Republican colleagues.

Although he bowed out of a press event with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ahead of the speech, McCarthy joined the three top congressional leaders in meeting with Zelensky ahead of his address. He was also part of the Escort Committee that accompanied the Ukrainian president into the Capitol building.

During the speech, McCarthy was seen joining in on most of the standing ovations— unlike Representatives Lauren Boebert, Jim Jordan, Andrew Clyde and Matt Gaetz, who sat them out. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who called the congressional visit “absurd,” was reportedly absent from the speech.

According to the Hill pool, only 86 of 213 House Republicans attended Zelensky’s address.

At the same time, McCarthy is currently at the center of an intra-party feud over who should be the next speaker of the House.

The far-right faction of the GOP has broken into a quarrel over whether McCarthy is the right person to lead the caucus. While Boebert and Gaetz have snubbed the House minority leader, Greene has backed him and even used McCarthy’s scrutiny of aid to Ukraine to argue in favor of a speakership.

But with a slim majority in the House, it remains to be determined whether McCarthy would be able to whip his caucus in line as the House Speaker when some Republicans remain in support of aiding Ukraine’s efforts against Russia.

Newsweek reached out to McCarthy for comment.