Vance backs Bannon’s push for vote on Ukraine support
COLUMBUS — U.S. Sen. JD Vance said Wednesday that he’s going to continue pressing the Biden administration over American military support for Ukraine during an interview with a conservative media personality.
Vance, a Republican who took office last month, talked about Ukraine during a Wednesday podcast interview with former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon.
During the interview, in which Vance also discussed his recent endorsement of ex-president Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential election, Bannon asked Vance to push the White House for a formal war powers vote as a form of congressional oversight.
“Is it time for the Senate, or a couple of people, to stand up and force Biden to come with a War Powers Resolution? And lay out the plan, lay out the objectives, lay out the strategy, what we’re prepared to do. And then let’s vote,” Bannon said.
“Yeah, I think it’s exactly time to do that,” Vance responded. “And that’s something I plan to work on over the next few months. If Ukraine is as important as the Biden administration, and way too many Republicans say it is, then why isn’t Europe stepping up and doing its job? Why are we footing the majority of this bill even today?”
Bannon recently began pushing for the Biden administration to seek a War Power resolution, the formal process of consulting Congress while preparing for or declaring war. Bannon, a strident Ukraine critic who occasionally has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Vance on Wednesday such a move would force the White House to be more specific with its plans.
Congress members across the political spectrum have pushed for votes on War Power resolutions to end U.S. military support in the ongoing civil war in Yemen, as recently as late December.