Ro Khanna stands by ‘common sense’ letter to Biden urging diplomacy in Ukraine

Mike Brest

October 25, 04:41 PM October 25, 04:41 PM

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is standing by a now-withdrawn letter he and colleagues sent to President Joe Biden urging him to emphasize diplomacy in Ukraine.

On Monday, 30 House progressives signed the letter, which some have said they signed over the summer. There was a backlash as critics suggested the push was unrealistic given the circumstances in the war. Roughly 24 hours after the letter was publicly revealed, the Progressive Caucus withdrew it, with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the caucus chairwoman, saying that it “unfortunately was released by staff without vetting.”

Khanna, however, doesn’t support Jayapal’s decision to withdraw the letter, saying in an interview on CNN on Tuesday, “I think the letter was common sense. I support making sure we arm Ukraine and provide arms to Ukraine and continue to fund it, but I also believe that the president, as he said, we are at a risk of nuclear war. Don’t you think our counterpart should be talking to Russia? Of course they should, to be sure that it doesn’t escalate.”

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Other progressive members, including Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) distanced themselves from the letter, with the former saying she wouldn’t sign it currently after having signed it in late June.

The letter, at the time it was published, appeared to represent a significant shift within the Democratic Party on Capitol Hill, in addition to calling for diplomacy as Russia has engaged in alleged war crimes and the possibility of military escalation.

Another underlying aspect of the timing of the letter is that it was released only two weeks before the midterm elections, in which the Republican Party is expected to retake control of at least one chamber of Congress. There has been more consternation among Republicans about the continued aid to Ukraine, which has topped $65 billion since Russia invaded, some of whom voted against the aid the United States has already provided.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made headlines last week when he said the Ukrainians will not provide them with a “blank check,” though he has since expounded upon those comments, saying he supports helping Ukraine defeat Russian forces.

With the makeup of Congress set to change once November's winners are sworn-in in early January, Democrats could look to pass another large aid package, and NBC News is reporting that it could be in the ballpark of another $50 billion.

Last Friday, in response to McCarthy, President Joe Biden said he didn’t “understand the threat that [Republicans are] saying they may have to stop funding the Ukrainians in their war against this brutal dictator.”