Democrats have accused Trump of abandoning Ukraine by holding aid for several weeks over the summer of 2019. Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) even accused the president, falsely, of causing the deaths of Ukrainian soldiers.
In fact, Trump had previously sent Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, unlike President Barack Obama, who had only provided non-lethal aid.
Moreover, Ukraine did not even know about the hold on the aid until it was reported in the media several weeks later. And witnesses in the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry testified that the hold did not affect the Javelins.
Ernst made it clear she was irritated with what she portrayed as hypocrisy by the Democrats.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), she said, voted against the most recent National Defense Authorization Act, "which included lethal aid to Ukraine." Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Hakeem Jeffreys (D-NY), and Nadler (D-NY) voted against the last one, which also included such spending.