Mass. congressional delegation turns focus to Ukraine after averted government shutdown

Members of Massachusetts' all-Democratic congressional delegation are vowing to fight for more military aid to Ukraine after voting with Republicans to avert a government shutdown over the weekend.

The nation appeared headed towards a shutdown Saturday, until Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy advanced a package that funded the government at current levels while increasing federal disaster assistance and cutting support for Ukraine.

"Don't get me wrong, passing this bill was the right decision for the American people," said Rep. Seth Moulton, who voted for the bill. "But we're going to have to double down on our efforts to get Ukraine the funding it needs in the coming weeks."

All nine of Massachusetts' congressional representatives voted to approve the stopgap bill.

In an appearance on WBUR’s Radio Boston, Rep. Jake Auchincloss said he voted for the bill because it was "the responsible thing to do" but said he wouldn’t vote for more spending bills that don’t include support for Ukraine.

“Shutting down the government certainly doesn't help Ukraine and definitely doesn't help Americans who need to make changes to their social security, who are flying to visit loved ones,” said Auchincloss. “But this is the last time I am going to be supporting a compromise effort that does not have clear, credible and concrete terms for supporting Ukraine in it because they're fighting on the front lines of the free world.”

The loss of aid to Ukraine was a bitter pill for Democrats to swallow. A bipartisan Senate spending proposal would have included $6 billion in economic and security aid, something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lobbied for on his recent visit to Washington.

But a growing group of congressional Republicans are opposing more aid for the country's fight against Russia, while also trying to slash spending for federal programs and government agencies.

"The problem is, a lot of Republican support is behind the scenes," Moulton said. "They are scared to go out in public and vote or say that they support Ukraine, even though they know it is an important investment in our national security."

The new spending plan will fund the government through mid-November. That gives House and Senate lawmakers over a month to complete the regular budget process.

But hard-right Republicans are already signaling a challenge to Speaker McCarthy's leadership. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz told CNN Sunday he would use a parliamentary procedure to try to oust McCarthy this week.

In an interview with WBUR on Sunday, Rep. Stephen Lynch said McCarthy shouldn't expect help from Democrats.

"Before McCarthy announced this impeachment inquiry, I think there were enough moderate Democrats to keep him in office," he said. "But once he launched this specious, unfounded impeachment inquiry, he lost even the support among those."