Ukraine's top Freedom Caucus ally gets cold feet

A play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news

Aug 17, 2023 View in browser   By Sarah Ferris, Anthony Adragna and Daniella Diaz Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) has been among the staunchest backers among House conservatives of aid to Ukraine. But the Freedom Caucus member and Ukraine Caucus co-chair increasingly sees Kyiv's fight to force out invading Russians as an unwinnable stalemate. | Francis Chung/POLITICO AN APPROPRIATOR LEANS OUT ON UKRAINE ABINGDON, Md. — Standing in front of a PowerPoint presentation on the national debt, Rep. Andy Harris told his constituents it’s about time to wind down direct U.S. aid to Ukraine. “Is this more a stalemate? Should we be realistic about it? I think we probably should,” Harris (R-Md.) said at a Tuesday night town hall, held at a public library about 75 miles north of Washington. He said of Ukraine’s springtime offensive that was intended to turn the tide of the war: “I’ll be blunt, it’s failed.” And he was blunt, too, about the prospects for a victory ahead: “I'm not sure it's winnable anymore.” Why he’s different: Those are not unconventional views for a member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, of which Harris is a longtime member. But Harris is also a co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus whose Ukrainian mother fled communist Eastern Europe after World War II. He remained steadfast in his support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy through the early months of the war and voted for Congress’s big standalone Ukraine aid package last year, backing both military aid and humanitarian aid for the tiny nation in its Goliath-sized fight against Russia. Harris is also a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, giving him an outsize voice in his party’s spending priorities. Asked in an interview after the town hall whether he’d support another tranche of aid, he sharply hedged: “If there is humanitarian monies, nonmilitary monies, or military monies without an inspector general, I’m not supporting it.” A conservative’s qualms: Harris’s new tone on Ukraine aid is one more sign of the GOP's shifting ground on the issue. And it’s a preview of just how much of a headache the issue will be for Speaker Kevin McCarthy when lawmakers return from recess next month. President Joe Biden is seeking $24 billion more in emergency funds for Ukraine this fall — a request that will need to go through GOP conservatives whose positions on the aid sound a lot like Harris’s. Among the many concerns Harris laid out: The prospect of fraud or waste. Rising U.S. food prices. The possibility of starting “World War III” by bringing Ukraine into NATO. But most of all — the cost. “I’m sorry, we don’t have that kind of money,” Harris said, pointing to the trillion-dollar U.S. deficits in the post-Covid years. And now, he has joined the chorus of GOP hardliners on Capitol Hill who are pushing for a negotiated end to the war. "I think the time has come to realistically call for peace talks. I know President Zelenskyy doesn’t want it,” Harris told his town hall crowd. “But President Zelenskyy, without our help, he would abjectly lose the war. And with our help, he’s not winning. It’s a stalemate now. " — Sarah Ferris GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Aug. 17, where we’re one day closer to Friday, folks.   STEP INSIDE THE GOLDEN STATE POLITICAL ARENA: POLITICO’s California Playbook newsletter provides a front row seat to the Golden State’s political power centers, from inside the state Capitol and governor's mansion in Sacramento, to the mayor’s office and City Council and Los Angeles, to the influence of Silicon Valley. Authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner bring you exclusive news, buzzy scoops and behind-the-scenes details that you simply will not get anywhere else. Subscribe today and stay ahead of the game!     DEMOCRATS TOAST THE IRA’S ANNIVERSARY Democratic lawmakers celebrated at the White House on Wednesday, marking the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature legislation that reshaped the nation’s climate, energy and health care policies. But if there was a theme to the afternoon’s festivities, it was that there’s more work to do — both in terms of policy and selling voters on what Democrats have already done. “We got a lot more work ahead,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who spoke to Huddle after attending the afternoon rally in the East Room. “Donald Trump did a good job of talking and had no action. Democrats have had a lot of action and we need to do a little more talking so people know what we've done.” Spotlighting the IRA: Wednesday’s White House shindig is just the latest in a string of events by Democrats to bolster their legislative accomplishments from the last Congress — when they controlled both houses of Congress — ahead of next year’s election. Biden and members of his Cabinet have fanned out across the country this summer to spotlight those bills, often with Democratic lawmakers in tow. “Sometimes we take for granted all the hard work that gets done here, the long hours of negotiating, taking time to understand, to get the policy passed,” Dingell said. “It actually is making a difference in everybody's lives, and it's why we do what we do.” The celebration came amid cresting concerns over climate change. The White House announced earlier Wednesday that Biden will visit Hawaii early next week, where wildfires killed more than 100 people earlier this month. July was the hottest month in U.S. history, with cities across the nation shattering temperature records. And there may be more still to come, with Atlantic hurricane season only just beginning. Who went? Lawmakers at Wednesday’s event included former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke at the event, chiding Republicans for touting provisions in the legislation that they did not vote for. Tongue seemingly planted firmly in cheek, the New York senator invited his Republican colleagues to “vote with us to pass new legislation, so they can come to even more ribbon cuttings down the line.” — Daniella Diaz and Anthony Adragna SCHUMER ISN’T SWEATING THE SPECIAL COUNSEL STUFF House Republicans are poised to intensify the spotlight on the president’s son Hunter Biden, who faces a newly appointed special counsel and a potential criminal trial in the coming months. But Schumer said he isn’t concerned — put simply, he doesn’t think “the Baileys,” his famously fictional average middle-class voting couple, give a flip. “Hunter Biden, all of these investigations, are within the right-wing echo chamber that's maybe 10 percent of the public — and people who would never vote for us anyway,” Schumer told Burgess in a Wednesday interview. A late June poll from Reuters/Ipsos found 58 percent of respondents said Hunter Biden’s legal woes would have no impact on whether they’d vote for Joe Biden in 2024. But the same poll also found 50 percent of respondents believe Hunter is receiving favorable prosecutorial treatment because his father is the president. — Anthony Adragna   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     HUDDLE HOTDISH Don Bacon has some profound birthday thoughts: “60 is the new 40!” John Fetterman posted a family vacation pic from the “happiest place on Earth.” QUICK LINKS  Feds indict paid fundraiser for Rep. George Santos for allegedly impersonating Speaker McCarthy aide, by Dan Mangan at CNBC Inside the Incredible Drama Over One Senator’s Trump Endorsement, by Zachary Petrizzo at The Daily Beast Jon Tester faces another tough Senate campaign in Montana as the GOP braces for a possible primary, by Ryan Nobles and Frank Thorp V at NBC News Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose fires press secretary over tweets criticizing Trump, by Henry J. Gomez at NBC News Tim Scott announces second major ad buy of his presidential campaign, by Maegan Vazquez and Marianne LeVine at The Washington Post TRANSITIONS  Got a new gig on the Hill? Leaving for something else? Let us know! TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is not in Washington. The Senate is not in Washington. AROUND THE HILL *Crickets* TRIVIA WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: Patrick Pizzella correctly identified Mitch McConnell as the occupant of a desk once held by then-Sen. Richard Nixon before then moving to one previously held by then-Sen. John F. Kennedy. TODAY’S QUESTION from Patrick: What one-time vice president said this about the 1964 Civil Rights Act?: “I will eat my hat if this leads to racial quotas." The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to huddletrivia@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Daniella and Anthony on X at @DaniellaMicaela and @AnthonyAdragna.   Follow us

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