Ahead of a pair of all-member Ukraine briefings for the House and Senate on Thursday, Hawley is asking for “clarity” from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on how Ukraine’s future membership in NATO would serve U.S. interests, according to a letter obtained by Axios.

Hawley said he supports sending assistance that Ukraine needs to defend itself, but contends that the U.S. interest “is not so strong” to warrant going to war with Russia.

Biden himself has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine but plans to deploy forces to eastern Europe to bolster NATO’s defenses — a position overwhelmingly supported by Senate Republicans.

What they’re saying: “Such a deployment can only detract from the U.S. military’s ability to ready and modernize forces to deter China in the Indo-Pacific,” Hawley writes, arguing that “Americans’ security and prosperity rest upon our ability” to curtail Beijing’s dominance.