Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, told CNN's Michael Smerconish on Saturday that he is "embarrassed" and "really ashamed" of his own party for withholding "absolutely" necessary funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The Context:
Saturday marks the two-year anniversary of Russia launching its full-scale invasion into Ukraine. As Ukrainian soldiers struggle to fight off Russian forces, support for the Eastern European county among U.S. Republican lawmakers is dwindling.
The Senate passed a $95.34 billion foreign aid package that includes $61 billion for Ukraine, but it has been stalled as House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who opposes additional funding for Ukraine, refuses to put the bill on the House floor.
What We Know:
Smerconish asked Buck on his namesake CNN show: "I know you have strong concerns as to the status of the war. Speak to those if you would please?"
Buck responded: "As a Republican I'm embarrassed that my party is holding up funding that absolutely needs to be made to Ukraine to let them fight the Russian invasion. We're now also dealing with Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine. There's many parallels about how Russia is infecting and affecting the politics of the United States. We need to get past that."
The congressman continued: "We need to understand the threat that Russia has and is to the European countries, our allies, our trading partners, those who share our values much more than other countries around the world. I am really ashamed that the Republican Party doesn't step up, recognize this threat and support the people of Ukraine who are fighting, who are dying in this war."
Views:
A day before the Senate passed the foreign aid package, Johnson signaled that he did not have plans to put the bill on the floor: "Now, in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters. America deserves better than the Senate's status quo."
Newsweek reached out to Johnson's office via email.
Meanwhile, at a rally in South Carolina earlier this month, former President Donald Trump bashed the foreign aid bill.
"They want to give like almost $100 billion to a few countries," the former president told a crowd of his supporters. "I said why do we do this? If you do, you give them not $100 billion, you give it to them as a loan."
He also said he would encourage Russia to go after America's allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) who don't pay their fair share of dues.
Sharing an anecdote from his tenure as president, Trump said that a president from a NATO country asked him: "'Well sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?' I said, 'You didn't pay, you're delinquent?' He said, 'yes.' Let's say that happened. No, I would not protect you, in fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want."
What's Next?
President Joe Biden has been urging the House to "immediately" take up the foreign aid package. He said, "there's no question" that the bill would pass in a House vote during a White House speech last week.
"I call on the speaker to let the full House speak its mind and not allow a minority of the most extreme voices in the House to block this bill even from being voted on," the president said.
Update 2/24/24, 10:54 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more
