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(Daily Signal)—Nearly two years ago, mere months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the House of Representatives approved its second package of economic, humanitarian, and military funding for Ukraine. The $40 billion measure passed May 10, 2022, by an overwhelming margin of 368-57.
At the time, those 57 lawmakers voting against the bill represented a cohort of Republicans who were already skeptical of the U.S. strategy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict and frustrated by the lack of debate in Congress and oversight of taxpayer money.
Today, that number has doubled. There are now more Republicans in the House opposed to additional Ukraine funding than those who support it.
Even so, the latest Ukraine funding bill—totaling $60 billion—was approved Saturday with a 311-112 vote with the unanimous support of Democrats. All 112 lawmakers voting against the bill were Republicans. By comparison, 101 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who voted against the $40 billion Ukraine bill in May 2022, was a notable exception. He championed the Ukraine measure Saturday as part of a four-bill foreign aid package that totals $95 billion.
“I’d rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys,” Johnson told Newsmax. “We don’t want to have boots on the ground, and we can prevent that by allowing them to hold Putin at bay.”
The Swamp is too drunk on power to realize that this scene has become the symbol of everything that’s wrong in DC.
They fund other countries, but don’t protect our border.
They wave foreign flags and wear them on their lapels, but don’t protect our border.
And some shroud… pic.twitter.com/9twwhVAEfD
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) April 21, 2024
In addition to the Ukraine funding ($60.84 billion), lawmakers also approved separate bills for Israel ($26.38 billion); the Indo-Pacific ($8.12 billion); and the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, a bill that would impose more sanctions on China, Iran, and Russia. They also adopted a measure requiring TikTok’s parent company to sever ties with the Communist Chinese government or cease operations within the United States.
With the full package of bills expected to pass the Senate in the coming days, it will mark the fifth time Congress has approved funding to help Ukraine.
Saturday’s vote, however, was the first by a Republican-led House. The four previous measures were adopted in 2022 when Democrats led the chamber and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was calling the shots.
The previous four funding bills provided a total of approximately $113 billion to Ukraine, averaging about $900 per American household. The number could really be as high as $125 billion, according to information Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and other lawmakers obtained from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
Once the new $60 billion is added to the total, taxpayers will be on the hook for more foreign aid to Ukraine at a time when they are struggling to afford gas, groceries, and rent.
Republicans objecting to the latest Ukraine funding bill cited a variety of reasons for their opposition, although a dominant theme had to do with the failure to secure any meaningful changes to President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S. border crisis and instead making foreign aid a higher priority.
But other questions remain about Ukraine and its notorious reputation for corruption.
Writing for The Hill last week, Heritage Foundation President Dr. Kevin Roberts noted that concerns conservatives began raising two years ago are now proving correct, including a failure to track military weapons supplied to Ukraine and embarrassing Pentagon accounting errors.
“Ukraine’s minister of defense was fired for questions around military graft. Billions in U.S. aid have flowed to economic aid rather than lethal weapons,” Roberts wrote. “More importantly, then as now, President Biden has presented no coherent strategy or plan for victory or peace in Ukraine to the American people, who are gradually losing patience with the bloody stalemate his administration has created.”
The $95 billion bill doesn’t have to pass.
It takes only 41 senators stop it.
There are 49 Republicans in the Senate—more than enough.
Where do your senators stand?
Please like and share if you agree that 41 Senate Republicans should unite to stop the $95 billion aid package. https://t.co/BVDCK45GB6
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) April 21, 2024
Two years ago, when the $40 billion foreign aid bill reached the Senate, 11 Republican senators voted against the Ukraine measure. This time, the foreign aid package will include money for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and other legislation included by the House, so determining if there will be a similar result to the House vote might be difficult to assess.
Still, the evolving outlook toward Ukraine reflects a changing mindset among conservatives about U.S. foreign policy. The implications of continuing to fund a foreign war, particularly in times of economic strain at home, will no doubt continue to animate conservatives and divide Republican lawmakers.
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by Michael Snyder
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The Biggest Sale on Long-Term Storage Beef EVER
by Sponsored Post
Let’s cut to the chase. Prepper All-Naturals is offering an unprecedented 40% off for it’s “Beef Steak” survival bags with promo code “steak40”. With a 25-year shelf life and a single ingredient (beef, of course), our most popular product is available for a very limited time with the biggest discount…
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by PJ Media
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by Slay News
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by Frank Miele
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by Just The News
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday said that it has issued two flight restrictions on the area surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, following questionable drone activity. The drone sightings were first reported on Nov. 18, but have continued into this week, according to Fox…
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by Trending Politics
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by Breitbart
President Joe Biden should issue preemptive pardons to his political allies and those deemed to be on President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged “enemies list,” Democrats and their media allies believe. Delivering a preemptive pardon indicates an admission of guilt, although Democrats claim a preemptive pardon would only be intended to block…
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by Trending Politics
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by JD Rucker
Pete Hegseth represents a shift away from the wokeness that has infected the United States military. This is possibly the biggest reason President-Elect Donald Trump tapped him to be the next Secretary of Defense and the vast majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill can support this, at least for the…
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by Nicole Silverio, DCNF
(DCNF)—Fox Business host Charles Payne called out the alleged “huge double standard” of President Joe Biden’s family Tuesday by revealing that his brother, who struggles with a crack addiction, is currently serving a jail sentence. Payne said his brother, who is getting out of jail on Friday, is likely one…
Zelensky Admits Ukraine Can’t Retake All Its Land: ‘We Must Seek Diplomatic Means’
by Breitbart
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conceded in an interview on Tuesday that Ukraine does not have “enough forces” to restore sovereignty over Russian-occupied Crimea and “must seek diplomatic means” to end the Russian invasion and regain its land. The state-run Ukrinform outlet reported that Zelensky described Crimea – which Russia colonized…
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by Olivia Cook
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by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
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Mysterious ‘Car-Sized Drones’ Over New Jersey Prompt FBI Investigation
by Zero Hedge
Several weeks of mysterious drone swarms over the skies of one New Jersey county near the military research and manufacturing facility Picatinny Arsenal have sparked concerns among residents and prompted an FBI investigation. “It’s kind of unsettling,” Mike Walsh, a Morris County resident who has spotted the drones on numerous…
UNESCO’s New Mission: Train Influencers About Combatting Online “Misinformation”
by Reclaim the Net
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is now incorporating teaching influencers how to “fact check” into its activities. UNESCO claims that influencers have become “primary sources of news and cultural information” around the world – which prompted it to carry out a survey into how these online personalities…
