Although he was a supporter early on, U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) said he is no longer willing to support bankrolling Ukraine's war effort against the Russians.
During an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Carl said he expected a Democrat approach to tie Ukraine funding to other national security priorities, including the U.S.-Mexico border, to fail.
Carl, who is running as the incumbent against U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) for the first congressional district's GOP nomination in next year's primary, called for a "standalone" effort on each national security issue.
"To start this conversation, I am in no mood to send more money to Ukraine until we can figure out a way, maybe, if we can figure out a way and be assured we're going to fix the southern border issue," Carl said. "The Senate has sent us a synopsis of what they're going to ask for — the Senate Democrats. And I was looking at it here, I know we were going to talk about this, or had a feeling about this knowing you — they're asking for $15.1 billion for Ukraine, $15.1 billion. When you read the small print, on the U.S. Customs side, they're looking at $2.3 billion for the emergency fund of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Nine-hundred-and-twenty-three million of that is going toward operational costs. That's just to process more people."
"If they try to put all of that together, you'll see it blow up here," he continued. "You will see it blow up here. If they have any chance of passing Ukraine's budget or more money to Ukraine, it is going to have to be a standalone bill, and I have no intentions of voting for anything standalone on Ukraine. It's too early to say what we're going to do and not do. We've got to get the full package in here, and we'll start splitting it up. You understand the process a lot better than I do, but I have no interest in sending any money to Ukraine at this moment."
Carl voiced his concerns about the lack of accountability on Ukraine funding. He also said Democrats might have been generating the concern over Ukraine to distract from President Joe Biden's woes.
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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