US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin threatened to send Americans to fight Russia if lawmakers do not approve more aid for Ukraine, media personality Tucker Carlson said via X (formerly Twitter).
"We’ll send your uncles, cousins and sons to fight Russia," Carlson quoted Austin as saying during a classified briefing to the House of Representatives earlier this week.
Carlson said he confirmed the veracity of Austin’s threat to lawmakers, after billionaire businessman Elon Musk questioned him about the report.
The Biden administration held classified briefings with members of Congress to inform them about the situation in Ukraine, in an effort to rally support behind the supplemental funding request with aid for Ukraine.
The Defense Department has warned that the United States risks running out of resources to support Ukraine and backfill its own defense stocks without further congressional action.
Biden had earlier asked for an additional $106 billion in funding for US efforts in the Ukraine and Israel, as well as the Asia-Pacific. However, the initiative has largely proven a hurdle as lawmakers have refused to throw their backing behind the legislation.
Moreover, assistance to Ukraine is also criticized by the Americans themselves. US Republican Congressman Thomas Massie is one of the few congressmen who are not only against giving further money to Ukraine, but he also opposes funding Israel. Massie believes that the United States should first fix its own infrastructure before sending money elsewhere.
According to the congressman, lawmakers tend to support aid to Ukraine because the spending is "laundered" back to the US military industrial complex. In turn, the funds can end up enriching lawmakers who own shares in defense companies, Massie said.
The push for funding by the White House comes as the US government has repeatedly emphasized that the money allocated for Ukraine is almost completely depleted, amid exhaustion within the government over ongoing aid packages.