德克萨斯州共和党众议员迈克尔·麦克考尔和俄亥俄州共和党众议员迈克·特纳周日坚持认为即将上任的众议院共和党多数派将继续支持资助和武装乌克兰对俄罗斯的战争，淡化共和党会议上誓言反对未来援助计划的批评者。
可能分别担任众议院外交事务和情报委员会下一任主席的麦克考尔和特纳在美国广播公司的“本周”节目中表示，如果乌克兰获得西方的足够支持，它可能会赢。
他们还支持众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡过去的声明，即国会不应该提供“空白支票”，并表示共和党人计划推动对美国海外支持的使用进行更大的监督和“问责”。
“本周”的联合主持人玛莎·拉达茨引用了一些保守派人士对乌克兰援助的反对意见，如佐治亚州众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林，并问道，“你真的确定共和党人会把这个带到地板上吗?”
“我认为两党的大多数人都支持这项努力，”麦克考尔说。“我认为每个人在国会都有发言权。事实是，我们将提供更多的监督、透明度和问责制。我们不会开一张空白支票。”
“这是否削弱了我们帮助乌克兰人民战斗的意愿?不，但我们将以负责任的方式来做，”麦考尔说。他说，否则，像中国和伊朗这样的威权国家可能会因俄罗斯的成功而变得胆大妄为。
“显然，问题是我们不需要通过400亿美元的民主党大法案，这些法案已经通过，可以向乌克兰提供80亿美元，”特纳告诉Raddatz，他最近从乌克兰的一次报道之旅中返回。
Raddatz反驳了Turner，指出除了用于采购的直接资金，整个援助计划都集中在乌克兰，包括对重建的长期财政支持。麦克考尔和特纳也在5月投票支持400亿美元的一揽子计划。
议员们的评论是在乌克兰预计将迎来一个残酷的冬天之前发表的，俄罗斯在入侵约九个月后，将乌克兰的能源基础设施作为目标，限制主要城市的电力和热量。
麦克考尔和特纳表示，为乌克兰提供足够的防空系统是当务之急，麦克考尔认为联邦政府已经“放慢了”一些致命支持。
在这张2022年9月24日的档案照片中，众议员迈克尔·麦克考尔出现在德克萨斯州奥斯汀的德克萨斯论坛报节上。
彭博通过盖蒂图片，文件
在麦考尔提出将乌克兰的活动范围扩大到克里米亚(俄罗斯于2014年吞并了克里米亚)的可能性后，当拉达茨向麦考尔追问提供某些弹药是否会“煽动俄罗斯”时，麦考尔说:“根据国际法，克里米亚不是俄罗斯的一部分。所以，如果他们能打到克里米亚，我认为这是公平的游戏。”
但是，特纳说，鉴于美国装备的复杂性以及训练和最终使用可能需要的时间，简单地移交美国装备可能不是解决问题的办法。
他说:“我们的防空系统非常复杂，我们需要确保与合作伙伴合作，建立一个他们可以用来保卫基辅和基础设施的防空系统。”
更广泛地说，麦克考尔和特纳表示，从明年1月开始，他们的委员会将对以下问题展开调查美国从阿富汗撤军.共和党人也可以审查国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约卡斯对南部边境的处理共和党人说笔记本电脑里有争议的内容归亨特·拜登所有乔·拜登总统的儿子。
特纳说:“对于这次大会来说，非常非常积极的一件事是，我们将重新回到委员会的工作中来。”。
麦克考尔还表示，尽管受到几名极右议员的公开批评，但他相信麦卡锡将获得成为下届国会议长的选票。
麦卡锡需要在1月3日的众议院获得218票才能成为议长。在可能的222个席位中，至少有四名共和党人发誓要反对他，这使他在第一轮投票中赢得胜利的道路变得复杂。
整个众议院将继续投票选举议长，直到候选人赢得多数席位。如果麦卡锡未能获得足够的支持，议员们可以提名另一位妥协的候选人。
“你认为他有足够的选票吗?”拉达茨问道。
“凯文是我见过的最努力的议长候选人。我认为他赢得了我们会议的大多数人的支持，”麦克考尔说。"事实是，这里还有什么选择?"
Top House Republicans support more aid for Ukraine but want 'accountability'
Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Mike Turner, R-Ohio, on Sunday insisted that theincoming House Republican majoritywould continue to support funding and arming Ukraine in its war against Russia, downplaying critics inside the GOP's conference who have vowed to oppose future aid packages.
McCaul and Turner, the likely next chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees, respectively, said on ABC's "This Week" that Ukraine could win if it gets adequate support from the West.
They also backed House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy's past statement that Congress shouldn't provide a "blank check" and said Republicans planned to push for greater oversight and "accountability" over how American support is being used overseas.
"This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz cited objections to Ukraine aid from some conservatives -- like Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene -- and asked, "Are you really certain that Republicans will bring this to the floor?"
"I think the majorities on both sides of the aisle support this effort," McCaul said. "I think everybody has a voice in Congress. And the fact is, we are going to provide more oversight, transparency and accountability. We're not going to write a blank check."
"Does that diminish our will to help the Ukraine people fight? No. But we’re going to do it in a responsible way," McCaul said. Otherwise, he said, authoritarian countries like China and Iran could become emboldened by Russia's success.
"The issue, obviously, is we don't need to pass $40 billion, large Democrat bills that have been passed to send $8 billion to Ukraine," Turner told Raddatz, who recently returned from a reporting trip in Ukraine.
Raddatz pushed back on Turner, noting that beyond the immediate funds for procurement, that whole aid package was focused on Ukraine including with long-term financial support for rebuilding. Both McCaul and Turner also voted for the $40 billion package in May.
The lawmakers' comments come ahead of what is expected to be a brutal winter in Ukraine, with Russia, some nine months after its invasion, targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure -- limiting power and heat to major cities.
McCaul and Turner said that providing Ukraine with adequate air defense systems is a top priority, and McCaul contended the federal government had "slow-walked" some of its lethal support.
When Raddatz pressed McCaul on whether providing certain munitions could "incite Russia" after McCaul raised the possibility of extending Ukraine's range into Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, McCaul said: "Crimea is not part of Russia under international law. So if they can hit into Crimea, I think that’s fair game."
But, Turner said, simply handing over U.S. equipment might not be the answer given its sophistication and how long it could take to train and ultimately use.
"Our air defense systems are so complex, we need to make certain that we work with partners and pull together an air defense system that they can put together to defend Kyiv, to defend their infrastructure," he said.
More broadly, McCaul and Turner said that starting in January, their committees will launch investigations intothe U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Republicans could also scrutinize Homeland Security SecretaryAlejandro Mayorkas' handling of the southern borderand the controversial contents of a laptop that Republicans saywas owned by Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son.
"One thing that’s going to be very, very positive about this Congress is we’re going to get back to the committees working again," Turner said.
McCaul also expressed confidence that McCarthy will have the votes to become speaker in the next Congress despite public criticism from several hard-right lawmakers.
McCarthy will need 218 votes on the House floor on Jan. 3 to be speaker. At least four Republicans in the likely 222-seat majority have vowed to oppose him -- complicating his path to winning the gavel in the first round of voting.
The entire House will continue voting for a speaker until a candidate wins a majority. Lawmakers could nominate another compromise candidate if McCarthy fails to secure enough support.
"Do you think he has the votes?" Raddatz asked.
"Kevin has worked harder than any other candidate for speaker I've seen. I think he's got the majority of our conference," McCaul said. "And the fact is, what's the alternative here?"
