Politico: Pramila Jayapal Personally Approved Ukraine Letter
Rebecca wrote about this earlier today, but Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is taking heat for throwing her staff under the bus for what the Washington Democrat said was an ill-advised letter to Joe Biden calling for him to negotiate with the Russians to end the war in Ukraine. It was drafted months ago but was released without being vetted. Jayapal attempted to do damage control but made more of a mess, blaming this kerfuffle on a staff error (via NBC News):
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, on Tuesday announced the group had retracted a letter that asked President Joe Biden to directly engage with Russia in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.
The retraction of the letter, which was sent Monday, came after the progressives' effort to press the president to take a more aggressive strategy on Ukraine was met with intense pushback from fellow Democrats and some Ukrainians.
In a statement announcing the retraction, Jayapal blamed the letter’s release on a staff error.
“The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting," Jayapal said. "As chair of the caucus, I accept responsibility for this.”
“Because of the timing, our message is being conflated by some as being equivalent to the recent statement by Republican Leader McCarthy threatening an end to aid to Ukraine if Republicans take over,” Jayapal continued, referring to a statement by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that if Republicans win back the House majority next month, they're not going to write "a blank check" to the country.
“The proximity of these statements created the unfortunate appearance that Democrats, who have strongly and unanimously supported and voted for every package of military, strategic, and economic assistance to the Ukrainian people, are somehow aligned with Republicans who seek to pull the plug on American support for President Zelensky and the Ukrainian forces,” Jayapal continued.