**House Republicans Investigate Zelensky's Visit to Pennsylvania**

House Republicans have initiated an inquiry into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent trip to Pennsylvania, alleging it was a campaign effort benefiting Vice President Kamala Harris. Leading the investigation is Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who has requested communications regarding Zelensky's visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, accompanied by Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a prominent supporter of Harris.

Comer compared Zelensky's use of an Air Force C-17 cargo jet for his trip to former President Donald Trump's previous use of federal resources to pressure Zelensky into investigating alleged corruption by President Biden's family—a move that led to Trump's impeachment in 2019. Comer expressed concerns about the nature of the Ukrainian president's taxpayer-funded visit to Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state for the 2024 election, and questioned if the Biden-Harris administration sought to leverage Zelensky for Harris's presidential campaign.

Zelensky, who was in New York addressing the United Nations on Wednesday, has previously voiced concerns about Trump's potential pressure on him to cede Russian-occupied territories should Trump regain the presidency. Meanwhile, at a campaign event in North Carolina on the same day, Trump criticized Zelensky, attributing the Russian invasion of Ukraine to actions by Biden and Harris and accusing Zelensky of draining U.S. resources without achieving a beneficial resolution.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has also demanded that Zelensky dismiss Kyiv's envoy to the U.S., Oksana Markarova. Johnson alleged that Markarova organized the Pennsylvania visit for partisan purposes and excluded Republicans from the tour. This, he argued, undermined Republican trust in her diplomatic capabilities.

Reports from the Scranton Times-Tribune indicated that journalists were barred from joining Zelensky during his tour of the ammunition plant, although images and Army press releases were later disseminated. Pennsylvania is home to nearly 100,000 Ukrainian Americans, a significant demographic given that Trump lost the state by just 80,555 votes in the 2020 election.

Chairman Comer has set a deadline of October 2 for Attorney General Merrick Garland, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and White House counsel Ed Siskel to provide documents related to Zelensky's visit. According to Comer, these documents are essential to determine whether there was any abuse of government resources for political gain in favor of Vice President Harris's campaign.