Some Republicans, particularly those closest to former President Donald Trump, have been angered over Zelenskyy's visit on Sunday to an ammunition plant in President Joe Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is one of the swing states seen as crucial to victory in the November 5 presidential election, and the presence of the Ukrainian president prompted allegations of political interference.
In an open letter to Zelenskyy, the Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said that “the tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference.”
During the trip, which the Ukrainian ambassador organized, Zelenskyy appeared with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who has campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Bob Casey, and U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright. They are all Democrats.
"The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because – on purpose – no Republicans were invited," wrote Johnson, who is not expected to meet with Zelenskyy when the Ukrainian leader comes to Congress.
The Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
It is common practice for governors to meet foreign leaders who travel to their states. In July, Zelenskyy visited a factory in Utah and was hosted by that state's Republican governor, Spencer Cox.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy is expected to thank congressional leaders for approving billions of dollars in funding for his country as it grapples with a 2-1/2-year-long Russian invasion and to make the case for more.
After becoming speaker last year, Johnson, who had voted repeatedly against aid for Kyiv, waited until April before allowing the House to vote on Biden's October request for financial assistance for Ukraine.
However, he said on Wednesday his letter to Zelenskyy was not a threat to stop funding.
"I'm not making any threats," he told reporters.
