US opposition to funding Ukraine’s military operations against Russia has fallen in the past month, including among self-identified Republicans, according to a recent poll.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey in November found 45% of Americans say the government is spending too much on aid to Ukraine, compared with 52% in October.
The AP-NORC poll also shows 59% of Republicans are now opposed to Ukraine aid, whereas 69% of Republicans were against providing military assistance one month ago.
The poll comes nearly a month after House Republicans elected Mike Johnson (R-La.) to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), following caucus infighting over government funding and continued aid to Ukraine.
Eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) voted to oust McCarthy on Oct. 3 after the House passed a bill on a bipartisan basis to fund the government at current levels until Nov. 17.
Gaetz accused the former speaker of striking “a secret side deal” with President Biden to further fund Ukraine’s military effort as McCarthy dropped further aid to Kyiv from the bill, which passed Sept. 30.
Congress this month passed two stopgap funding bills to avoid a government shutdown, which will expire Jan. 19 and Feb. 2, respectively.
Since winning the gavel, Johnson has expressed commitment to sending more US aid to Ukraine, albeit with certain “accountability” measures in place.
The US has so far sent $113 billion to President Volodymr Zelensky’s war-torn nation, and Biden in October asked Congress to pass another $61.4 billion in security assistance, which rankled hardline Republicans.
Johnson and other House GOP lawmakers have stated that any Ukraine assistance would be tied to further border security funding, a condition echoed by a chorus of Senate Republicans.
The aid is part of a $106 billion emergency spending package requested by the White House that included $14.3 billion in military aid to Israel as it wages war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, along with other foreign aid.
The House separately passed a bill to provide Israel with that aid on Nov. 2, which Senate Democrats blocked weeks later.
According to the AP-NORC poll, 38% of US adults and 29% of Republicans say current US aid to Ukraine is “about the right amount.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv on Monday, saying the defeat of Russia’s military “matters to the rest of the world” and the US would continue to support Ukraine “for the long haul.”
“As President Biden has said, when aggressors don’t pay a price for their aggression, they’ll cause more chaos and death and destruction,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also said at a White House press briefing on Monday.
“They just keep on going, and the cost and the threats to America and to the world will keep rising.”
That sentiment is reflected in the recent poll, with half of American adults expressing concern over Russia’s influence and the potential threat it poses to the US, on which a majority of both Democrats (53%) and Republicans (51%) agree.
Just 48% endorse providing weapons to Kyiv for the war effort, comprising 57% of Democrats and 42% of Republicans. And 45% of US adults say their country should take “a less active role” in solving the world’s problems.
Even fewer support direct US government funding to Ukraine — around 4 in 10 Americans — including 54% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans.
The same percentage of US adults consider Ukraine a key ally that shares US interests and values, a view supported by 52% of Democrats, 38% of Independents and 29% of Republicans.
Around half of Republicans say Ukraine is a partner on the world stage that the US needs to cooperate with, but is not a nation that shares American values.
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,239 US adults from Nov. 2 to 6, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.