“It’s about time,” said Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of the bipartisanship that has bloomed around Ukraine. “In World War II, we came together. And this is very similar.” Inside the room for Zelenskyy’s speech, McCaul said “a lot of the members, and many that you’d be surprised by, were in tears” as the Ukrainian president showed spliced images of his country before the war and after. “It looked like Nazi Germany to me.”
Just two years ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was at the center of impeachment proceedings that deeply fractured Republicans and Democrats in Congress. On Wednesday, appealing to those same lawmakers for aid against a devastating Russian invasion, Zelenskyy not only brought them together — he brought them to their feet, reports AP.
Lawmakers gave the actor-turned-president multiple standing ovations as he invoked the values of “democracy, independence, freedom” in an impassioned appeal for more American aid. Many quietly wiped away tears or shook their heads as Zelenskyy paused to show a graphic video of the carnage being inflicted upon his country.
It was a show of unity in Congress that would have been unthinkable even just a few weeks ago, and quickly sparked talk among lawmakers about finding new ways to help Ukraine withstand the Russian onslaught.
“Slava Ukraini!” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in her introduction of Zelenskyy, invoking the watchword of Ukrainians — “Glory to Ukraine.”
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