Republican Opposition to Ukraine Funding Now at 66%

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—New polling conducted this week sheds light on the contentious foreign aid bills currently under review by the House of Representatives, revealing widespread disapproval among American voters.

With the House gearing up for pivotal votes on the foreign aid bills in the upcoming days, the survey conducted from April 16-18 reveals a growing trend of opposition. The J.L. Partners poll of 897 likely voters was shared exclusively with The Daily Signal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is slated to bring five bills to the floor for votes Saturday. Four of the bills would be combined later into a single package, pending a House rule now under consideration.

Key findings from the J.L. Partners poll of voters include:

• Support for Ukraine funding, championed by President Joe Biden, stands at 33% with opposition at 47%.
• Indo-Pacific funding garners support from 23% of respondents, while 42% express opposition.
• Funding for Israel draws support from 27%, with 50% in opposition.

The proposed legislative package includes a measure pertaining to TikTok that enjoys 41% support and 36% opposition. This measure would require ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to either disassociate from the Communist Chinese government or cease operations within the United States.

The poll underscores strong opposition from Republican voters toward Ukraine funding, with a mere 17% endorsing a $60 billion loan for the nation while 66% express dissent. The legislation finds favor primarily among two demographics: Americans over 65 and Democrat/Biden supporters.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the United States has allocated about $113 billion to Ukraine, averaging approximately $900 per American household. Despite this, the Biden administration persistently has sought an additional $60 billion from U.S. taxpayers to bolster efforts in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Republican voters also exhibit skepticism toward allocating $5 billion to Indo-Pacific nations and Taiwan, with 54% opposing and 19% in favor. The Israel aid bill, seeking authorization for $14 billion, receives slightly higher approval from Republicans, though it also encounters 40% opposition compared with 31% support.

These polling results track with another survey conducted earlier this month by Scott Rasmussen at RMG Research Inc. and released by The Heritage Foundation. That survey underscored the overwhelming preference of swing voters for Congress to prioritize addressing the border crisis before allocating more money to Ukraine. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s news and commentary outlet.)

Johnson intends to put forward a border-related bill for a House vote Saturday, though it won’t be integrated with the other four bills constituting the foreign aid package.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said earlier this week:

Not a single U.S. taxpayer dollar should be going to Ukraine until our own borders are secure, Biden proposes a coherent strategy for ending the conflict, and full accountability for past and future funding [is] secured. The American people know they deserve better and expect policies—and leaders—that put their country first. Congress would be wise to listen to them.

J.L. Partners polled 897 likely voters between April 16-18, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.