Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during the House Oversight Committee impeachment inquiry hearing into President Joe Biden, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the leadership chaos gripping Capitol Hill will have no impact on Canada’s ongoing support for Ukraine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jacquelyn Martin
WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the leadership chaos gripping Capitol Hill will have no impact on Canada’s ongoing support for Ukraine.
Tuesday’s unprecedented ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is fuelling fear that Republican support for the Ukrainian war effort could soon evaporate.
Trudeau says U.S. President Joe Biden is as committed as ever to backstopping that effort, and says standing up to Russia’s invasion remains the right thing to do.
The White House isn’t the problem, however: Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the Republicans vying to replace McCarthy, is a vocal opponent of backstopping Ukraine’s war effort.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the support Congress has approved to date is expected to last for about two more months.
Kirby says allowing that support to lapse would make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he needs only wait for the western coalition to collapse.
Canada has already provided Ukraine with more than $9 billion in military, humanitarian and financial support, and that’s not about to change, Trudeau said Thursday.
“Standing up for the international rules-based order, that matters so deeply for the peace, stability and prosperity felt by people all over the world, is essential,” he said.
Trudeau took part Wednesday in a call with G7 leaders in which he said Biden vowed to ensure the U.S. remains in the fight, adding that the same goes for Canada.
“We’re there with whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until Ukraine wins.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2023.
