(Ken Silva, Headline USA) As the U.S. national debt quickly approaches $34 trillion, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen went on television Monday to explain how critical it is for Americans to continue funding Ukraine’s government.
Yellen’s comments as President Joe Biden pushes Congress for a $105 billion aid package that will include funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan—with a poultry $12 billion thrown in for border security, perhaps to appease Republicans.
The comments also come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy complains that the U.S. is diverting weapons from Ukraine to Israel. Zelenskyy reportedly said on Nov. 16 that deliveries of artillery shells have “decreased” since Israel began its campaign in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack.
Yellen said Monday that Ukraine remains a “critical priority” for the Biden administration. That’s why American taxpayers must continue funding the basic functions of Ukraine’s government as it concentrates on fighting Russia, she said in an interview with CNBC.
“We can’t allow Ukraine to lose a battle on the home front because it lacks enough money to keep schoolteachers in the classroom and first responders on the job, when it’s fighting valiantly on the battlefield. Ukraine is utterly dependent on this aid,” she said.
Yellen then made the case that the Ukraine-Russia conflict is of importance for U.S. national security.
“This aid is critical to the national security of America. If Putin were to win this brutal war in Ukraine, next we might see him attacking a NATO ally of ours,” she said. “We need to stop this.”
Last month, Yellen was asked whether the U.S. can afford another war given its precarious fiscal position. National debt has skyrocketed past $33 trillion, and rising interest rates now have the debt increasing by about $1 trillion every three months.
But that’s not a problem, according to Yellen.
“Absolutely, American can afford to stand with Israel and to support Israel’s military needs. And we also can and must support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia,” said Yellen, who is Jewish.
In the same interview, the Treasury Secretary also claimed that “the American economy is doing extremely well.” Her comment was made on the heels of a higher-than-expected inflation report.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
