Kevin McCarthy breaks with McConnell, will oppose $1.7T omnibus bill

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House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will reportedly campaign against the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that Senate Republicans negotiated with Democrats.

McCarthy's break with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will reportedly come at a GOP lunch meeting Wednesday, just a day after Senate leadership agreed to the omnibus, according to Punchbowl News. Congress is expected to give a final vote on the package later on Wednesday.

House Republicans like Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., have taken issue with specific aspects of the bill aside from its huge price tag. Bishop pointed to what he called a "sinister" portion of the bill that allots nearly $600 million to encourage "family planning" in places where human population growth threatens animal biodiversity.

"Malthusianism is a disturbing, anti-human ideology that should have ZERO place in any federal program," Bishop wrote on Twitter.

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., watch election results in a room with staffers at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 8, 2022. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters following a closed-door policy lunch at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republican in-fighting over the spending bill comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy visits Washington for the first time since Russia's invasion began. The $1.7 trillion package also includes $45 billion in military funding for the war-torn country.

While McCarthy has called for more scrutiny on funding to Ukraine and an end to "blank checks," McConnell says he is all-in on continuing to fund Ukraine's defense.

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"Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the No. 1 priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans," McConnell told reporters Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa after their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 21, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

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Regardless of the fate of the omnibus, President Biden announced $1.85 billion in new aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, including a Patriot missile battery. Patriot missiles are the most advanced American air defense system.

Zelenskyy will address Congress on Wednesday evening.