Ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Alaska Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III has declined to say that he supports aid for the embattled eastern European nation, drawing a significant contrast between himself and the other two members of Alaska’s congressional delegation.
After President Donald Trump incorrectly stated that Ukraine started the war, Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan pushed back on the president’s comments and correctly said Russia started the war. Begich did not issue a similar statement.
After his speech to the Alaska Legislature last week, he was asked directly by Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, whether he stood with Murkowski and Sullivan.
Begich didn’t answer the question and instead offered a general comment saying that he wants to see “peace in Ukraine.”
In the process of answering Josephson, he repeated several false statements by Trump, including the claim that the U.S. has sent $350 billion in military aid to Ukraine.
Congress has appropriated about $183 billion for Ukraine, according to figures published by the federal government. Not all of that money has been spent, and not all of it is for military purposes.
Begich also repeated a false statement by Trump about the war’s death toll, saying incorrectly that “there have been millions of individuals who have tragically died in that war.”
No estimates of the death toll exceed 1 million.
“I think there has to be a limit to how much the U.S. taxpayer is asked to provide for global defense,” Begich said. “So I encourage all efforts to support and find a way through this conflict to a peaceful resolution. Do I believe that peaceful resolution will be amenable to everyone? No, it’s not going to be. But I think that the people of Ukraine deserve an opportunity for peace.”
Begich did not say what his preferred peace proposal might look like. Ukrainian leaders and Alaska’s two senators have said that they are uninterested in the idea of trading Ukrainian territory for a peace deal.
Asked afterward about his question, Josephson said he was “profoundly offended” by Trump’s statement blaming Ukraine for the war, and he wanted to know where Begich stood.
“It’s utterly a lie, it’s totally incorrect, and it is an embarrassment to this country’s history, and I illustrated that it’s completely inconsistent with our values,” Josephson said. “And I just wanted to see where (Begich’s) breaking point was. And sure enough, as I figured, he was able to steer around the question. OK, that’s easy enough to do, but I don’t know what his breaking point is. You know, I’m very worried about the situation here. Very, very worried about it.”
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