Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced a cool reception from the House in his appeal for billions of dollars in new U.S. aid as Republicans struggle to pass a government spending bill held back by a small group of hard-line fiscal conservatives.

Mr. Zelenskyy’s high-stakes visit to Washington on Thursday found a much warmer welcome in the Senate and later at the White House, where President Biden affirmed the U.S. commitment to helping the country fend off Russia and prepared to announce new military assistance to help the country harden its defenses. 

But a separate $24 billion spending package proposed by Mr. Biden that Mr. Zelenskyy desperately hopes to secure from the U.S. to help battle Russian invaders can’t become law unless the House passes it. And so far, it’s stalled. 

Ukraine war funding on Thursday became the latest flash point in the House GOP’s struggle to pass any spending legislation ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline. 

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, proposed a deal on 2024 defense spending that most of the GOP believed would pass the House on Thursday and pave the way for a stopgap bill on overall government funding.

But as Mr. Zelenskyy left the Capitol for his meeting at the White House Thursday afternoon, a small group of Republicans took advantage of the party’s tiny majority and blocked the defense bill, in part because it included a small package of funding for Ukraine worth roughly $300 million. 

“I just voted ‘no’ to the rule for the Defense bill because they refused to take the war money for Ukraine out and put it in a separate bill,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, said, pointing to polling that shows more than half of Americans and nearly three-quarters of Republicans “agree with me that we should stop funding a war in Ukraine.”

Mr. Zelenskyy’s reception in the House was far chillier than his last visit in late December when he delivered an address to a joint session of Congress to thundering applause from both sides of the aisle.  

Mr. Zelenskyy asked to deliver another joint address on his visit to Congress this week. The Democrat-led Senate agreed. Mr. McCarthy declined. 

“We just didn’t have time,” Mr. McCarthy said when asked why he rejected Mr. Zelynskyy’s request.

Pushback on Ukraine funding comes as the public, and particularly Republican voters, have grown wary of U.S. investment in the war. 
Former President Donald Trump, the prohibitive leader in the GOP primary, has publicly criticized additional funding for “endless wars,” including Ukraine. 

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and since then the U.S. has provided the country with $114 billion in four rounds of aid.

A growing number of Republican lawmakers now want to put the brakes on U.S. support for the war until both Mr. Zelenskyy and the Biden administration can provide an accounting for the money and a plan for ending the war. 

“Where’s the accountability on the money we already spent?” Mr. McCarthy said this week. 

A group of 28 Republicans from the House and Senate wrote to the Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, announcing their opposition to the $24 billion request for Ukraine aid. They demanded details about how the money was sent so far, and an explanation of the administration’s strategy to win the war or wind down U.S. involvement.

Sen. J.D. Vance, Ohio Republican, wrote the letter following a classified briefing Wednesday about the status of the Ukraine war, where, he said, “It became clear that America is being asked to fund an indefinite conflict with unlimited resources.”

Mr. Zelenskyy met with a group of House lawmakers Thursday and was then escorted to the Senate, notably, without Mr.  McCarthy, who aides said was tied up gaveling in the House. 

Mr. Zelenskyy was met by both Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Democrat, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, who both back continued and robust U.S. support of Ukraine in its battle against Russia.

Like other Republicans who support U.S. aid for the war, they see Russia’s encroachment in Ukraine as a broader threat to Europe and the U.S. 

Mr. McConnell, who has faced criticism for his support of Ukraine funding, said the money is not “charity” but “an investment in our own self-interest.”

About 70 senators met with Mr. Zelenskyy in the Old Senate Chamber, a ceremonial room reserved for special events and VIPs. 

Afterward, lawmakers in both parties praised Mr. Zelenskyy and echoed his call for the U.S. to continue providing money to push back Russia. 

“We discussed the battlefield situation and priority defense needs, such as air defense,” Mr. Zelenskyy posted Thursday on X after the closed-door Senate meeting. “I hope that the U.S. Congress will continue to make important decisions to provide financial assistance to Ukraine. Oversight, transparency, and accountability for all the aid is absolutely important and imperative.”

After the meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy, Mr. Schumer repeated the warning that was delivered to senators by the Ukrainian leader.

“Mr. Zelenskyy said if we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war,” Mr. Schumer said. 

• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washigtontimes.com.

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.