Barrasso: US Can't Continue to Supply Ukraine Alone

President Joe Biden, while meeting with other NATO states this week in Lithuania, must "hold their feet to the fire" about meeting their financial obligations toward the alliance and in helping Ukraine's fight against their Russian invaders, because the United States "cannot shoulder this burden alone — nor should we," Sen. John Barrasso said Sunday.

"Of all the money that has been contributed, the United States has doubled what all other NATO countries have done combined," the Wyoming Republican said on "Fox News Sunday." "Of the 38 NATO nations, only seven are actually meeting their commitment to [contributing] 2% of their gross national products. That number has dropped since Joe Biden's come to office."

He added that it's important for Biden to point out that many of the countries that are not meeting their commitment are "a lot closer geographically" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, making them more vulnerable to him.

"Putin is not going to stop until he is stopped," Barrasso said. "The president needs to say that loud and clear at NATO this week."

The senator said he agrees that it is important to keep NATO together and that the alliance acts in unity, but the member states must be held accountable and do more.

"We cannot shoulder this burden alone — nor should we," said Barrasso. "There's lots of support in Congress for Ukraine, for technology, weapons, for information. It is not for troops."

He added he does approve of Biden's agreement to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, as "that should have happened long ago."

"Russia has been using those for a long time," he said. "There is so much delay in the activity of this administration in ultimately getting to Ukraine what they need, but it is taking too long."

Biden, he said, has a "misguided fear" that sending more weapons to Ukraine will add to Russia's escalations, but delays are just prolonging the war.

Barrasso said he does agree that there should be a pathway to Ukraine's joining NATO, but not until the war with Russia has ended.

The senator also commented about Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's recent visit to China, during which she said both countries can thrive.

Such statements, he said, show that Biden is "playing right into the hands of communist China."

"Never again can we allow ourselves as a nation to be dependent upon them for anything," said Barrasso. "To see Secretary Yellen bowing down repeatedly in China is embarrassing and is emblematic of this administration."

He noted that a few days before Yellen arrived in China, the country choked off the supplies of key minerals that are needed for semiconductor panels.

"These are the people who are stealing our trade secrets," said Barrasso. "They are buying up our farmland. They are killing our citizens with fentanyl. This is a foreign national security disaster ... the president is making it worse by shutting off mining for critical minerals in the United States while forcing people to buy expensive electric cars. He is making us poor, and he is making China richer. It is going to get worse next week when he sends John Kerry to China to continue this surrender."