Reeher Discusses US Aid for Ukraine With Fox News, Newsweek, The Hill

April 27, 2024

Fox News,Newsweek,The Hill

Grant Reeher

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

Congress

Defense & Security

International Affairs

National Security

Grant Reeher

Ukraine will soon receive much-needed aid to stabilize the front lines of their war with Russia after Congress cleared billions of dollars in new weapons. The immediate effect of the U.S. package will be to help defend Ukrainian cities and defensive positions on the front lines, as artillery and air defenses have dwindled since the last U.S. shipments in December.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, tells The Hill that besides the far-right lawmakers in the House who unequivocally oppose funding Ukraine, other Republicans who voted against the last bill are more persuadable on the issue.

“There’s a space to be persuaded that it’s in our best interest to do this,” he says. “I don’t see us abandoning Ukraine and just walking away.”

Reeher tells Newsweek that any further U.S. aid for Ukraine will put pressure on both Democrats and Republicans.

“Aid for Ukraine is supported broadly in the entire House of Representatives, and is viewed by many as existentially needed by that country,” he says.

In the Fox News article, “McConnell looks to cement legacy as ‘Reagan Republican’ with crusade for Ukraine support,” Reeher says it's likely that McConnell “really believes in the importance of standing up to Putin and preserving the integrity of Ukraine's sovereignty, and wants to have that as his ‘last act.'”

At the same time, “it would be a moment of statesmanship that would also help frame the way he is remembered” as McConnell and his generation pass the baton, Reeher says.