RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – With the House of Representatives without a speaker, additional U.S. aid to Ukraine is hanging in the balance, with at least one Republican candidate for the job (Jim Jordan) saying the U.S. shouldn’t send any more money to Ukraine. 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said American aid to Ukraine must continue, arguing that if Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t stopped in Ukraine, he’ll invade neighboring NATO countries, resulting in American troops going to war. 

“Lessons of history are pretty clear,” Kaine said. “You allow an authoritarian dictator to do an illegal invasion and eventually it would be American troops in harm’s way.”

Meanwhile, Virginia Republican Congressman Bob Good (VA-05) voted against the most recent Ukrainian aid package. 

“I don’t think it’s our national security issue,” Rep. Good said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sept. 1. “I don’t think that we ought to be leading NATO and Europe and carrying the lion’s share of it. I don’t know what the exit strategy is. I don’t know what the result looks like.”

Good adds the U.S. should use any additional money that would be sent to Ukraine to tackle issues affecting Americans more directly. 

“We don’t have accountability for the $113 billion or so that has already been sent there,” Good said. “We have to borrow the money that we send there. We have our own national security issues. We have our own weakened military issues.”

One of those issues for Republicans is border security. Kaine said if sending money to Ukraine is conditional on passing a true border security bill, it will get support from Democrats. However, if the deal includes other things outside of what he considers border security, it’s unlikely to pass. 

“If what border security means is a dramatic re-write of immigration laws to eliminate refugee or asylum status or criminalize behavior that is now not criminalized or other draconian measures that are seen as anti-immigrant,” Kaine said. “I’m not sure you can say that Democrats will agree to whatever the House asks for.”

Kaine said with the House without a leader, the Senate should take the lead on Ukraine funding in an attempt to have whoever is elected speaker hold a vote.