With the Biden administration squarely in its sights, a group of House Republicans led by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has called for an audit of the billions of dollars Washington has earmarked in aid to Ukraine. At a press conference on Capitol Hill, Ms. Greene introduced a privileged resolution “to hold our government accountable for all of the funding for Ukraine.” The move could be less a stab at undercutting bipartisan support for the Ukrainian cause than turning the screws on President Biden.

Ms. Greene’s filing of an article of impeachment against Mr. Biden on the latter’s first full day in office, January 21, 2021, had nothing to do with Ukraine. Yet against the backdrop of the vast sums now flowing to Ukraine in its fight against a months-long Russian invasion, the announcement by Ms. Greene may be another arrow in that quiver. 

“Congress has appropriated $54 billion to aid in the Ukrainian conflict,” Ms. Greene said, “and our President, Joe Biden, has requested another $38 billion this week. The American people, the taxpayers of this country, deserve to know where their money is going and how it’s being spent.”

In her announcement Ms. Greene inferred that not all of the funds appropriated principally for Ukraine are being spent for their intended recipients. “Of the $54 billion appropriated by Congress, $44 billion is for aid to Ukraine and other affected countries,” she said. “But what other countries, and how are they affected?” 

Evoking “the situation with FTX and the cryptocurrency,” Ms. Greene also suggested that some American taxpayer dollars meant for aid to Ukraine are “maybe ending up in Democrat donors’ pockets.” She added that “$8.9 billion is for the humanitarian assistance including emergency food and assistance for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees in the region and for other countries directly impacted by the conflict — again, what other countries? How much money went to them? What organizations are involved, and why did they get the contracts?”

The Hill reported that Ms. Greene and her colleagues are part of a “minority fringe,” but added that “the resolution, which calls for preserving administration documents and communications related to Ukraine funding distribution, speaks to other criticisms among some Republican lawmakers who support aid to Ukraine but say more oversight is needed.” That site also reported that Ms. Greene could reintroduce the resolution and call for a full audit  in the next Congress when Republicans hold the majority. 

In a separate development, CNN reported that Washington is “running low on some high-end weapons systems and ammunition available to transfer to Kyiv.” According to that report, “the strain on weapons stockpiles — and the ability of the U.S. industrial base to keep up with demand — is one of the key challenges facing the Biden administration as the U.S. continues to send billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine to support its fight against Russia.”

Ms. Greene appeared to be more focused on securing America’s borders than defending those of Ukraine. “With the money we’ve sent to Ukraine, we could have already secured our border, but we’re not doing that,” she said, adding, “we’re ignoring our national security crisis while we are completing protecting another country’s borders and also waging a proxy war with Russia.”

The resolution is co-sponsored by Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida, Barry Moore of Alabama, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. According to the Hill, it will be referred to the relevant House committee, where members will have 14 business days to reject it or approve it for a vote on the House floor.