As Congress continues to stall over the matter, a new survey out Thursday shows that Americans are divided along party lines regarding whether they want more aid to go to Ukraine.
Overall, 37% of Americans think the United States is spending too much money on Ukraine, according to the survey published by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A third felt the quantity of help was “about right,” while a quarter thought it was insufficient.
The party gap appears to have grown wider as Republican members insist on prioritizing U.S. border protection above granting further help to Ukraine.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has just passed the two-year mark, and 55% of Republicans believe the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine. Only 14% of Republicans felt the assistance was insufficient, while just under 30% thought it was about right.
While 44% of Democrats feel the United States has contributed too little aid, 46% favor continuing aid. The poll found that 38% thought it was right, while 17% thought it was excessive.
The poll also revealed that Democrats are more inclined to believe that the United States should prioritize assisting Ukraine in reclaiming lost territory and preventing Russia from acquiring additional territory in the country.
When asked how vital it was for the United States to support Ukraine’s military efforts against Russia, 58% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans expressed strong opinions. The provision of help by the United States was deemed unimportant or not necessary at all by 36% of Republicans.
President Biden and congressional leaders convened on Tuesday to debate funding for Ukraine. Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer used “intense” to describe the conversation.
Early in February, after Speaker Mike Johnson declared it was “dead on arrival” in the House, a bipartisan Senate border security agreement—which had contained money for both Ukraine and Israel—collapsed due to Republican obstruction. There has been a sudden flurry of activity in Congress and the White House over increasing humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
