This one’s unique, I’ll give her that
Her heart may be in the right place but her approach is counter-productive, to say the least:
When a bipartisan group of lawmakers visited the Ukraine border in March, an unexpected guest showed up on the trip: GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana.
Spartz, the first Ukrainian-born member of the US Congress and an outspoken advocate for her home country, had expressed interest in joining the congressional delegation but wasn’t invited to attend the trip, which consisted primarily of House Foreign Affairs Committee members, a panel where Spartz is not a member.
So, she used her own funds to fly to the border of Ukraine in Poland and linked up with lawmakers once there to join in on some of their meetings, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
Her surprise appearance, the circumstances of which have not been previously reported, was initially viewed as a welcome addition — albeit an unusual one — as lawmakers sought to rally Western support for Ukraine amid Russia’s bloody assault on the country that began a week earlier.
But members who were part of the official trip told CNN that Spartz was “argumentative,” “accusatory,” and “unhelpful” during key meetings with NATO members, generals and government officials, sparking concern that her presence was doing more harm than good.
“She crashed our CoDel. She was like a bull in a China shop,” said one GOP lawmaker, who like other members for this story was granted anonymity to speak more freely about a colleague and due to the sensitive nature of the subject. “I don’t know if it was pent-up frustration or she didn’t feel like she was getting enough proper information, but she was just accusatory and rude.”
[…]
That bipartisan frustration over Spartz’s behavior was only the beginning. In the nearly six months since the war began, Spartz has publicly criticized the Ukraine government, peddled corruption allegations against the Ukrainian government and some of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aides, and spurred complaints from her colleagues that she is mirroring pro-Russia talking points.
“President Zelensky has to stop playing politics and theater, and start governing to better support his military and local governments,” Spartz said in a press release last month, in one example of her outspoken criticisms of Kyiv.
Spartz, a 43-year-old businesswoman, has repeatedly insisted, publicly and privately, that she wants Ukraine to win, and that she is only attacking Kyiv because she wants to help remove any potential obstacles to a Ukrainian victory over Russia. She says she has visited Ukraine six times since the invasion began and has also slammed Russia consistently, including as recently as Tuesday when she tweeted that Russia should be declared a terrorist state.
Still, Spartz’s bellicose rhetoric aimed at Zelensky and his advisers has frustrated lawmakers in both parties, White House officials and members of the Ukrainian parliament alike. They worry she is undermining their efforts to stay united behind Ukraine at a pivotal moment and openly question where she is getting some of her information, according to interviews with over a dozen lawmakers, aides and administration sources.
Meanwhile, multiple briefings from the Biden administration and private pleas from senior Republicans have done little to rein in Spartz’s vocal criticism, sources said.
“Because she’s the only Ukrainian-born member of Congress, she has outsize megaphone, outsize influence,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat and former CIA analyst, said to CNN. “I think there’s an open question of why she’s so openly saying something that’s so clearly aligned with Russian talking points.” […]
Some lawmakers — even those unhappy with her rhetoric — came to Spartz’s defense, arguing she is well-intentioned and just desperate to help her motherland as it’s being ripped apart by war. Spartz was a vocal champion of key legislation to speed up the administration’s ability to send weaponry and other critical resources to Ukraine, attending the bill signing ceremony with President Joe Biden. And lawmakers in both parties have shared in her calls for more rigorous oversight of the weapons heading into Ukraine.
“She was overcome with emotion. And I think what you’re seeing now is a manifestation of that,” said a second GOP lawmaker. “What I’m trying to tell her is, I’m well aware of the corruption problem. … But talking about corruption now, when they are under siege, is like wall-papering your bathroom when the house is burning down around you. It’s counterproductive.”
Where do they find these people?