House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fire the country’s ambassador to the U.S. over Zelenskyy’s weekend trip to a Pennsylvania ammunition factory — a visit, Republicans say, that amounts to election-meddling.
At the factory, Zelenskyy was joined by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and two other Democrat lawmakers who are seeking reelection in the key swing state.
Johnson wrote to Zelenskyy: "The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because — on purpose — no Republicans were invited. The tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference."
Johnson called for her dismissal.
"I demand that you immediately fire Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova," he said, adding that she can no longer "fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat in this country."
Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., on Wednesday launched an investigation into the event, asking the White House, the Justice Department, and the Pentagon to provide details on logistics and funding.
In his letter, Comer said the House Oversight Committee "seeks to determine whether the Biden-Harris administration attempted to use a foreign leader to benefit Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign and, if so, necessarily committed an abuse of power."
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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