White House defends Zelensky's ammunition plant visit, calls Republican investigation 'political stunt'
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back on calls from top Republicans to investigate President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent visit to a Pennsylvania ammunition plant, telling reporters on Sept. 26 that it was a "political stunt" and that they "need to drop this."
Zelensky visited the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant on Sept. 22, along with Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro and other Democratic politicians from the state, to thank workers for producing critically needed 155 mm shells for Ukraine.
Following the visit, Republican Congressman James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, announced on Sept. 25 that he was opening up an investigation into the White House's "misuse of government resources."
Later in the day, House Speaker Mike Johnson, also a Republican, wrote a letter to Zelensky demanding that Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, be fired for alleged "election interference." Johnson argued that Markarova had arranged a taxpayer-funded trip to a battleground state that "purposely excluded" Republicans ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Jean-Pierre dismissed the investigation into the visit as a partisan effort from Republicans. She said the Ukrainian delegation had asked to visit the plant, and the Department of Defense (DoD) arranged for their transportation, "which is common."
The press secretary added that Zelensky had visited Utah's Republican Governor Spencer Cox in July to address the National Governors Association and that "there was not a single demand for an investigation" after the trip from Republicans.
Zelensky's visit to the ammunition plant was "business as usual for a Ukrainian request during wartime," Jean-Pierre said.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
