Former Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, praised House members on Saturday for passing a supplemental funding package for Ukraine, calling it a vote "to stand for freedom" while adding that those members "defied Trump & the GOP Putin caucus."
After resistance from some Republican lawmakers, the House passed a $60.8 billion foreign aid bill for Kyiv in a 311-112 vote Saturday to help restock Ukraine's arsenal amid Russia's invasion that began in February 2022. The bill was brought to the floor by House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, who, despite facing an unprivileged motion to vacate from Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, said in a speech Thursday that supporting Ukraine was "the right thing."
"Ukrainians fighting on the front lines of freedom should not have had to wait so long for this U.S. aid," Cheney wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday afternoon. "Today, 311 members of the House defied Trump & the GOP Putin caucus. They voted to stand for freedom against the evil of Putin & his allies in Iran and around the world."
Former President Donald Trump has long been criticized for what has been perceived as a soft stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has been noted often for his seeming unwillingness to criticize the Russian leader on matters that draw widespread criticism from many figures in the American political landscape, most recently declining to implicate Putin in the death of opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, until admitting that he was "probably" responsible in a Fox News interview last month.
The former president also sparked bipartisan backlash in February with his remarks about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during a campaign rally by saying he would "encourage" Russia to do "whatever the hell" they want to NATO members who insufficiently contribute financially to the military alliance.
Meanwhile, Saturday's aid package comes as Kyiv's artillery stocks have started to dwindle against Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rebuked the House vote while speaking to reporters, saying that the decision "will make the United States of America richer, further ruin Ukraine and result in the deaths of even more Ukrainians, the fault of the Kyiv regime."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement that his country has "long fought for" the replenished aid, calling the package "very significant."
"We appreciate every sign of support for our country and its independence, people, and way of life, which Russia is attempting to bury under the rubble," he added.
In addition, some Republican lawmakers continued their criticism for Johnson after the vote Saturday. Greene who introduced the motion to vacate against the House speaker for his handling of foreign funding and lack of securing the U.S.-Mexico border, posted to X after the aid bill passed, "Mike Johnson's House of Representatives so proud to work for Ukraine. Not the American people!!! It's despicable!"
GOP Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona have joined Greene's effort to oust Johnson.
The congresswoman also told reporters while leaving the Capitol building after the vote, "This is the sellout of America today. When we had members of Congress in there waving the Ukrainian flag on the United States House of Representatives floor while we're doing nothing to secure our border, I think every American in this country should be furious."
Newsweek has reached out to Greene's and Johnson's offices via email for comment on the House vote.
Meanwhile, Cheney has criticized Greene's stance on Russia and Ukraine on several occasions. In November 2022, Cheney condemned her for saying that "not another penny will go to Ukraine" while speaking at a Trump rally in Sioux City, Iowa.
Cheney wrote in an X post at the time: "This is exactly what Putin wants. If we'd had Republicans like this in the 1980s, we would have lost the Cold War."
Cheney was House Republicans' third-ranked leader until she emerged as a vocal critic of Trump for his actions surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. She eventually lost her position as chair of the House Republican Conference and then lost the 2022 primary election in Wyoming to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman.
Johnson did take up a U.S.-Mexico border security bill to a floor vote on Saturday, although the motion failed to garner two-thirds majority support.
Speaking to Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News on Thursday, Johnson said: "We want the border to be a part of every single thing we do here, but it's just a matter of math. I just don't have the votes. If I put Ukraine in any package, it can't also be with border because I lose Republican votes on that rule."
House members also passed a $8.1 billion aid bill to boost the U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region and a $26.4 billion package for Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas, including $9.2 billion allocated for humanitarian assistance.
Update 4/21/24, 3:21 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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