US requested an accounting of all other uses of taxpayer funds in connection with Zelensky’s visit.
Lawmakers are also pushing for an investigation into whether there was “any direct or indirect coordination” between Zelensky’s visit and any political campaigns, specifically pointing to the fact only Democratic officials were present for the Ukrainian president’s stop in Pennsylvania.
Those who accompanied Zelensky include Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), and Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA).
The letter also inquires whether any Republican elected officials from Pennsylvania were invited to attend the event.
The investigation request comes in response to a New Yorker story in which Zelensky suggested vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance was “too radical” and that former President Donald Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how.”
“I don’t take Vance’s words seriously, because, if this were a plan, then America is headed for global conflict,” Zelensky said.
“It would imply that whoever asserts control over territory — not the rightful owner but whoever came in a month or a week ago, with a machine gun in hand — is the one who’s in charge. We’ll end up in a world where might is right. And it will be a completely different world, a global showdown.”
Republicans argue that Zelensky’s remarks may amount to foreign election interference.
“Utilizing taxpayer dollars to parade a foreign leader around, who then attacks a major party ticket days before a presidential election, is textbook election interference and a clear violation of the Hatch Act,” Gooden said. “This is not only a gross misuse of public funds; it’s an outrageous manipulation of our democratic processes.”
Eight other Republicans signed on to the letter, including Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Mary Miller (R-IL), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Dan Bishop (R-NC), and Eric Burlison (R-MO).