WASHINGTON — As lawmakers in Washington consider sending billions in additional federal aid to Kiev to help combat Russian aggression, nearly half of the American public thinks the country is spending too much on aid to Ukraine, according to Associated Press polls NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
These sentiments, driven mainly by Republicans, help explain the hardening opposition among conservative Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who are rejecting President Joe Biden’s efforts to approve a new tranche of Ukrainian aid, arguing that the money could be better spent on domestic priorities.
Still, opposition to aid has fallen slightly from a month ago in another AP-NORC poll. Now 45% say the U.S. government is spending too much money on helping Ukraine in its war against Russia, up from 52% in October. That shift seems to come mainly from Republicans: 59% now say too much is being spent on aid to Ukraine, but that is down from 69% in October.
Nevertheless, Republican opposition to continued aid to Ukraine remains strong.
“I understand that the citizens need help, but I feel like we are spending way too much money on Ukraine, while here, on our own soil, we have our problems that we need to solve,” said Eric Mondello, 40, of Fountain . , Colorado. Pointing to needs such as health care for veterans and homelessness in communities, Mondello added: “I understand that the U.S. has been an ally to others, but I feel like let’s take care of our people first.”
More than a third (38%) of U.S. adults say current spending is “about the right amount,” which is up slightly from last month (31%). Among Republicans, nearly three-in-ten (29%) say current spending is about right, up from 20% last month.
Paula Graves, 69, is among those who say the amount of spending for Ukraine is the right amount.
‘Putin, he is downright evil. I don’t think there should be any doubt in anyone’s mind,” said Graves, of Clovis, California. “He is a dictator. He has violated human rights, he is a very scary person and if Ukraine falls to his power, who will be next? Which country is next?”
Graves, who says she is not affiliated with any political party but is more conservative, said she believes the US has a leading role on the world stage, adding: “I think we should definitely put America first , but I don’t think that should be the first and only one.”
The White House has repeatedly urged lawmakers to approve Biden’s nearly $106 billion emergency spending package he proposed in October, which includes more than $61 billion specifically for the war in Ukraine. The rest of Biden’s request includes aid for Israel in the fight against Hamas, money for several priorities in the Indo-Pacific region and additional resources to help manage migration at the southern border.
On Ukraine, the Biden administration is increasingly warning that the resource is drying up. During an unannounced visit to Kiev on Monday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine’s efforts to defeat Russian forces are “important to the rest of the world” and pledged that U.S. support would continue “in the long term.” .
That message was reinforced in the White House.
“As President Biden has said, if aggressors do not pay a price for their aggression, they will cause more chaos and death and destruction,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told the White House news conference on Monday. They continue as usual, and the costs and threats to America and the world will continue to rise.”
But Congress has rebuffed White House efforts to increase aid to Ukraine at least twice in recent months. First, it ignored an additional request of roughly $40 billion before the September 30 funding deadline. The country then approved an emergency financing measure last week that will allow the government to continue functioning early next year, but without additional aid to Ukraine.
In the Senate, a small bipartisan group is working on legislation that would combine new aid to Ukraine with stricter border measures to address Republicans’ concerns that the U.S. was focusing on needs abroad at the expense of issues closer to home. A large majority of senators remain supportive of Ukraine, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., among the most staunch supporters despite isolationist tensions in his party.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said lawmakers will continue working on the Ukraine border package over the Thanksgiving holiday and won’t wait until mid-January – when Congress faces another government funding deadline – to take action action against Ukraine.
The big question mark is in the House of Representatives, where the new Speaker Mike Johnson – who as a conservative voted against aid to Ukraine – has spoken broadly about the need to counter Russian aggression, but still facing unruly Republican lawmakers who have shown more hostility toward continued support for Kiev.
Johnson is also pushing for additional aid to Ukraine to come with stricter border measures, though it is far from certain that any immigration deal cleared by the Democratic-led Senate could pass the Republican Party-controlled House.
Half of American adults are very or extremely concerned that Russian influence poses a direct threat to the United States. Democrats (53%) and Republicans (51%) are also concerned about Russian power – but Democrats are more likely than Republicans to view Ukraine as a country with shared values with the US and support more aid to Ukraine.
About half of the public (48%) favors supplying weapons to Ukraine (57% among Democrats, 42% among Republicans). About 4 in 10 support sending government funds directly to Ukraine (54% for Democrats, 24% for Republicans).
Americans are slightly more likely to say the U.S. should take “a less active role” in solving the world’s problems, compared to a September poll by AP-NORC and Pearson. Just under half (45%) now say the US should be less involved, down from 33% in September. Only 16% of Democrats now say the US should play a more active role, down from 29% in September.
Peter Einsig, a Republican from Tulsa, Oklahoma, said he still believes the U.S. has a role to play abroad but remains concerned about excessive government spending and federal debt.
Still, Einsig said he would be more inclined to support aid to Ukraine if there were more oversight of how the money is used abroad, and if there was a timeline for how long the U.S. would continue to provide aid.
“We have no transparency about where the money really goes,” says Einsig (40). “It’s a large lump sum.”
Four in 10 American adults say Ukraine is an ally who shares American interests and values. This view is most common among Democrats (53%), who are much more likely than independents (28%), Republicans (29%), and Americans in general to see Ukraine as a country with similar values and needs. About half of Republicans say Ukraine is a partner the U.S. should work with, but say it is not a country that shares American values.
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The poll of 1,239 adults was conducted from November 2 to 6, 2023, using a sample from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points for all respondents.