CNN Newsroom: Interview with Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)
Interview
"Fredricka, we all know Americans scratch their head at what happens in Congress. Today I'm scratching my head. If there's ever a day where down is up, and up is down, it's today. Let's look at what's going on. As recently as this week, 75 percent of the House of Representatives, 330 members, voted to keep our commitment to Ukraine.
In the Senate, over 80 senators have said we want to stand by our commitment to Ukraine, both in items of honoring our alliances, making sure they continue to push back Putin, recognizing if Putin wins, Xi wins in terms of China as well. And suddenly this passion amongst a small minority in the House against Ukraine is so high, so irrational, that you've got the leadership of the House basically more than doubling disaster systems, increasing dramatically Democratic priorities and domestic spending, all to stick it to Ukraine, to the point where they are limiting the ability for the Defense Department to transfer already existing funds to Ukraine during this short-term break, if that comes to pass.
I can't explain it to your viewers. I can't explain why we have 75 percent plus of the Congress of the United States wanting to stand by Ukraine, yet it appears that at least the House may be headed towards something where they strip out the aid to Ukraine, and even strip out any kind of stopgap efforts to help them. I don't get it.
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Let's acknowledge this. If that was the concern -- and listen, Senator Paul has been consistent about he does not want support for Ukraine. He's been consistent on that. I disagree with him. But that's his position. But if you really wanted to keep the government open with the approach that 77 senators supported, we could have procedurally moved this quicker.
Every ability to stick a wrench in the gears has been used. That's part of the Senate rules. I think, frankly, maybe they ought to be looked at again. We've seen this in terms of Senate rules, where one senator holds up hundreds of military promotions. But it's a little rich. And again, Senator Paul has been consistent. That is not the case with a lot of my friends on the Republican side.
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I have huge concerns there. And Fredricka, there may be ways -- and I don't know. I'm not an expert on transfer authority that people can bridge. But, again, you've asked the right question. When we've got elections in Europe, one of them today in Slovakia where you've got a pro-Russian candidate versus a pro-European candidate. If we now look like we're walking away from that commitment, the person who has rallied NATO, the country that has expanded NATO, the country that's brought in Japan, South Korea, Australia, countries around the world to stand up against Russian aggression, at the very moment, while it's not been a big breakthrough, Ukrainians have had a small breakthrough in the south. Why in the heck we would jeopardize that right now when the overwhelming majority of Democrats and Republicans, as I indicated, more than 75 percent in both bodies, are on record as supporting aid to Ukraine.
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Yes. Senator McConnell --
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Senator McConnell has been one of the strongest supporters. Senator McConnell has been one of the strongest supporters, and I have great respect for his work. I just don't understand how we get through this issue in terms of how we are viewed in terms of our willingness to stand by our commitments.
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Listen, lots of us are having ongoing conversations. We've seen this already go dramatically different than what I think we all woke up this morning with. We still don't know for sure what the House is going to do. But as I said, I'll close with where I started. If there was ever a day where up and down and down is up, and we're down the rabbit hole in the "Alice in Wonderland" analogy, it's today.
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There's no state in the country that would be harder hit than Virginia by a shutdown, with the number of federal workers, contractors, defense installations. We've got to keep the government open. But I believe we should be able to walk and chew gum, particularly -- and this is the point that I just -- if I'm not explaining it very well, it's because I don't get it. When the overwhelming majority of Democrats and Republicans still support standing by Ukraine, why we can't support Ukraine and keep the government open, that seems like a walk and chew gum kind of circumstance.
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Thank you, Fredricka.
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