US Republican candidate for the Senate John Rust argued that Ukraine should not be given any more funds by the US until a wall is built on the entire southern border to tackle the border crisis.

"The issue I have with Ukraine is you have to fund our own border first before we go and fund Ukraine's border," Rust told Sputnik, adding, "I'm not for sending any money to Ukraine until our own southern border wall is built completely and funded completely from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean."

He noted that he "absolutely, positively" is on board for lumping the Ukraine aid and border security aid into one bill.

Earlier this month, the Senate voted down a bigger $118 billion supplemental funding plan that covered border and immigration policies, as well as international aid and national security funds, after Republican lawmakers rejected the previous bill for $95 billion as it entails over $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for "Israel."

Read next: Texas to build military base on Mexico border amid migration crisis

Border control is a federal responsibility in the United States, but, in January, the Texas National Guard moved into a municipal park in Eagle Pass, overlooking the river.

Abbott has also installed some 100 miles (160 kilometers) of barbed wire along the Rio Grande, a measure that the Biden administration is challenging in court.

The US Supreme Court has temporarily authorized the federal government to remove the barbed wire, but Texas has continued to install it while the dispute proceeds.

Defund as you please 

This comes after Representative Matt Gaetz urged the US to withdraw from the United Nations and cut off funding to the international organization to fund "Israel’s" war on Gaza instead.

“We shouldn’t have any foreign aid to any other country without corresponding cuts to our own bloated federal budget,” he said, adding, “If you want to send aid to Israel, fine, pay for it by defunding the United Nations.”

“I want the UN to be zeroed out in our budget. The US should be out of the UN, and the UN should be out of the US.”

“How about take the money away from the entity that had some of their own people attacking and killing Israelis?” he asked. “It seems like a good offset.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that House Republicans will insist on starting national security with border protection.

A survey conducted for Newsweek indicates that the ongoing migrant crisis has influenced #Texan attitudes toward independence.

The poll revealed that 44% of respondents are more likely or significantly more likely to support #Texas becoming a fully independent country.

Daniel… pic.twitter.com/wEOty54Slh

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 16, 2024