Democrat Rips Biden Over Cluster Munitions: 'Crossing a Line'

Representative Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, ripped President Joe Biden's decision to send Ukraine cluster munitions on Sunday morning, warning the move is "crossing a line."

The Biden administration announced plans this week to send Ukraine cluster munitions, which are controversial bombs that would provide Ukrainian forces a more powerful defense against Russia, but carry a high risk of civilian casualties. More than 120 countries have banned cluster munitions due to these humanitarian concerns. Biden's decision has sparked pushback from Biden's fellow Democrats, with some allies voicing opposition to sending these weapons to the war-torn country.

Lee, who is running in the state's Senate race next year, called out the president over cluster munitions during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union.

"Cluster bombs should never be used. That's crossing a line," the Democratic lawmaker told host Jake Tapper. "We know what takes place in terms of cluster bombs being very dangerous to civilians. They don't always immediately explode. Children can step on them. That's a line we should not cross."

When reached by Newsweek on Sunday, a White House spokesperson pointed to national security adviser Jake Sullivan's remarks addressing humanitarian concerns during a press conference on Friday.

"But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians because Ukraine does not have enough artillery. That is intolerable to us," he said. "Ukraine would not be using these munitions in some foreign land. This is their country they're defending. These are their citizens they're protecting. And they are motivated to use any weapons system they have in a way that minimizes risks to those citizens."

The spokesperson also pointed to other Democrats, such as Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, praising the decision. Kelly, in a statement released with a bipartisan coalition of senators, wrote that he appreciates "the work from the administration that went into this plan and will continue working with them and my colleagues in the Senate to provide Ukraine with the weapons and support they need to beat Putin and win this war."

While criticizing the move to send Ukraine's military cluster bombs, Lee, a progressive who was the only member of Congress to vote against the Afghanistan war in 2001, also said Biden has done a "good job" in managing Russian President Vladimir Putin's "aggressive" war in Ukraine.

Tapper pressed Lee about whether the United States sending Ukraine cluster bombs would equate to war crimes, pointing to a previous White House statement accusing Russia's use of the weapons potentially constituting such crimes.

Lee did not go as far as to say the transfer of cluster bombs to Ukraine would constitute war crimes, instead issuing a warning about how the move could affect the way the U.S. is viewed across the globe.

"We would risk losing our moral leadership. Because when you look at the fact that over 120 countries have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions saying they should never be used, they should never be used," Lee said. "And in fact many of us have urged the administration to sign onto this convention. I'm hoping the administration would reconsider this because these are very dangerous bombs. They're dangerous weapons, and this is a line I don't believe we should cross."

Newsweek reached out to Lee's campaign for comment via email.

Meanwhile, Lee was one of 19 House Democrats who signed onto a letter condemning Biden's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.

These lawmakers wrote that the U.S. can support Ukraine in ways that do not "undermine the United States' leadership in advocating for human rights around the world, enable indiscriminate harm that will only further endanger Ukrainian civilians, or distance us from European partners in the conflict who are signatories to the U.N. Convention opposing cluster munitions."

The letter continued: "The White House's announcement runs counter to Congress's restrictions on the transfer of these weapons and severely undermines our moral leadership. It underscores the work still ahead to press the U.S. to join the international community in banning the use of cluster munitions."

Update 07/09/2023 1:35 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.