A group of liberal Democrats in the House of Representatives – including Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine – reversed course on Tuesday and rescinded a letter to the White House that drew swift criticism for urging direct talks with Russia in hopes of ending the war in Ukraine.

The letter was sent Monday by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. It was immediately criticized by fellow Democrats, as well as Ukrainian officials, for giving Russia a propaganda victory and potentially undermining support for President Biden’s hard line approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Republicans are threatening to cut aid to Ukraine if they retake Congress.

Chellie Pingree in Portland’s Old Port on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2022. Pingree and fellow members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus have said the letter was originally drafted and signed in June but not sent to the White House until this week. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Pingree, D-1st District, is a member of the caucus and was one of the 30 members of Congress who signed the letter. She released a statement on Tuesday agreeing with the decision to retract the letter.

“I am sorry if this letter was misinterpreted as anything other than my full support for Ukraine and its brave citizens,” Pingree said in a statement to the Press Herald. “It was the right call for the Progressive Caucus to retract this letter. In the past and in the future, I will support the aid Ukraine needs to defeat Russia.”

Pingree has spoken about the need to face down Putin and traveled to the Poland-Ukraine border last spring to show her support for Ukraine.

Pingree – through her office – turned down a request from the Press Herald for an interview on Tuesday and refused to respond to follow-up questions, such as why and when she signed the letter.

Fellow members of the caucus have said the letter was originally drafted and signed in June but not sent to the White House until this week.

Ed Thelander, Pingree’s Republican challenger in the Nov. 8 election, said in a statement that the caucus’s letter was “dangerous” given the fluid situation in Ukraine.

“The stop-and-go foreign policy that (Pingree) and Biden have practiced over the last two years has emboldened our enemies and put America and our allies in danger,” Thelander said. “This is what happens when you stick your finger in the wind and allow politics to influence our foreign policy.”

During an Oct. 12 debate sponsored by Maine Public and the Press Herald, Pingree and Thelander clashed over Ukraine policy. In the debate, Pingree attacked Thelander for connecting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the 2021 U.S. pullout from Afghanistan.

“You cannot excuse the horrendous action of Putin and what he has done to the Ukrainian people by anything in Afghanistan,” Pingree said. “You can’t give Putin an excuse and say ‘Eh, he didn’t respect the United States.'”

Thelander responded by agreeing that Putin is an “evil man.”

“And what’s going on in Ukraine is wrong,” Thelander said. “But we’re in that because there’s a lack of respect for this country right now, from the pullout in Afghanistan.”

EVEN SOME PROGRESSIVES PILE ON

The letter, which was first reported by The Washington Post, called on Biden to pursue a “proactive diplomatic push, redoubling efforts to seek a realistic framework for a cease-fire.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., shown in November 2021, said on Tuesday that the letter about Ukraine had been drafted several months ago and “released by staff without vetting.” Jayapal is chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Some progressive activists also lambasted the letter, arguing that it played into the hands of Putin. Markos Moulitsas, a liberal blogger and founder of the Daily Kos website, has said that Putin wants a cease-fire to rebuild military capability and then will break the cease-fire in 2023.

“What’s your grand diplomatic plan that would get Russia to respect Ukraine’s right to exist, its national sovereignty and its territorial integrity? Because all that letter accomplished was giving Putin a massive propaganda victory,” Moulitsas tweeted Tuesday to U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and member of the caucus, before the letter was retracted.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Tuesday that the letter had been drafted several months ago and “released by staff without vetting,” The Washington Post reported.

“As chair of the caucus, I accept responsibility for this. Because of the timing, our message is being conflated by some as being equivalent to the recent statement by Republican Leader (Kevin) McCarthy threatening an end to aid to Ukraine if Republicans take over,” Jayapal said in the statement.

“The proximity of these statements created the unfortunate appearance that Democrats, who have strongly and unanimously supported and voted for every package of military, strategic and economic assistance to the Ukrainian people, are somehow aligned with Republicans who seek to pull the plug on American support for President (Volodymyr) Zelensky and the Ukrainian forces.”

Other members of the caucus also rescinded their support for the letter, The Washington Post reported.

“Timing in diplomacy is everything,” Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., tweeted Tuesday. “I signed this letter on June 30, but a lot has changed since then. I wouldn’t sign it today.”

“We have to continue supporting Ukraine economically and militarily to give them the leverage they need to end this war.”

In addition to Pingree and Jacobs, lawmakers who signed the letter included Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri.

The Post also reported that Jayapal issued a statement Monday stressing that members of the caucus support Ukraine and agree with Biden that Ukraine must participate in any negotiations, the Post reported.

“Let me be clear: We are united as Democrats in our unequivocal commitment to supporting Ukraine in their fight for their democracy and freedom in the face of the illegal and outrageous Russian invasion,” Jayapal said. “Diplomacy is an important tool that can save lives – but it is just one tool.”