Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema voted on Wednesday to support creation of a new office tasked with auditing US military spending for Ukraine, as part of the larger National Defense Authorization Act.
Sinema joined a majority of Republicans in voting for an amendment to establish an Office of the Lead Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance as part of the fiscal year 2024 defense spending bill.
The proposal included $10 million for a fully staffed inspector general’s office.
Sinema is not opposed to funding the war in the Ukraine. In 2022, she joined Senator John Kennedy, and Senator Mike Lee in sponsoring a provision to lend funding to Ukraine. And just this June, Sinema and Kennedy penned an op-ed defending the money pouring into Ukraine but expressed concern in response to reports of corruption and graft.
“Ukraine is not without flaws. We’ve heard several unsettling reports of bad actors exploiting our generosity,” wrote Sinema and Kennedy. “Some of our costly weapons have ended up in black markets. And corrupt officials have tried to line their own pockets.”
Sinema’s vote represents a complete reversal from her earlier vote against Senator Rand Paul’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have extended the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) oversight authority to supervise American spending to Ukraine in order to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
“A little over a year ago, I proposed an amendment to the massive $40 billion Ukraine spending package that would have entrusted a proven and effective Inspector General to oversee and track how funds are spent in Ukraine. My amendment was rejected, and today, over $113 billion in taxpayer dollars has been sent to Ukraine without proper oversight,” said Paul. “My Ukraine Aid Oversight amendment would have extended SIGAR’s oversight authority to include aid to Ukraine and provide taxpayers with an accurate accounting of how their money is spent, as well as to detect and prevent waste and fraud.”
Sinema was not the only former proud progressive taking flack for her vote. Progressive investigative reporter Lee Fang took a shot at once-progressive Senator Bernie Sanders for his reversal on Ukraine oversight in a tweet:
Lol within about 15 hours from this tweet Bernie Sanders voted against a special inspector general audit of $117 billion in Ukraine war money/contractors.
Somehow, we never have enough money for health care, education, or housing, but always have more than enough money for a bloated and wasteful Defense Department that cannot even pass an independent audit. It’s time to change our national priorities NOW.