Hard-right House Republicans are against Ukraine aid - and they seem to be in charge
Source: The Guardian
Hard-right House Republicans are against Ukraine aid – and they seem to be in charge
The chaos in the House may have devastating outcomes for the people of Ukraine, some experts warn
Joan E Greve
in Washington
Sat 14 Oct 2023 11.00 BST
Last modified on Sat 14 Oct 2023 11.57 BST
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The day after Gaetz delivered that speech, McCarthy was out of a job, becoming the first House speaker in US history ever to be ejected from office. Although McCarthy denied the existence of a side deal, Gaetz’s complaints underscored how funding for Ukraine served as one of the thorniest issues during the former speaker’s brief and contentious tenure.
As Donald Trump’s “America First” philosophy has gained popularity among Republicans, anti-Ukraine sentiment has spread through the party’s base and now into the halls of Congress. Even as bipartisan support for Ukraine remains robust in the Senate, a majority of the House Republican conference appears skeptical if not outright hostile to the idea of more funding.
That dynamic has further complicated House Republicans’ already difficult task of electing a new speaker, as any speaker candidate must negotiate with hard-right lawmakers who adamantly oppose more funding for Kyiv. Those lawmakers have made Ukraine funding a top priority in the search for a new speaker, and that tension raises serious questions about whether Congress will be able to approve another aid package, especially now that much of their attention has shifted to the war between Israel and Hamas. If lawmakers cannot pass more funding, Ukraine supporters warn the consequences could be deadly.
“This is critical to the war effort for Ukraine, which is then critical to the defense of Europe and, I think, critical to US national security,” said Max Bergmann, the director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “If Congress doesn’t act now, then a lot of Ukrainians are going to die.”
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/14/republican-house-ukraine-support-gaetz
Alternate no-registration link: https://news.yahoo.com/hard-house-republicans-against-ukraine-100040925.html
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