Speaker Mike Johnson is facing international criticism over his lack of swift action on Ukraine aid, which is ratcheting up pressure to make a critical decision that will not only have massive implications for his rookie speakership but also for Ukraine’s ongoing war effort against Russia.
So far, Johnson has resisted calls to bring a Senate-passed aid package up for a quick vote – a move that would require Democratic support and almost certainly spark a revolt from his right flank, something Johnson is eager to avoid. The speaker has said the legislation, which includes over $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine, would not pass in its current form, and privately told Republicans during a closed-door meeting last week there is “no rush” to address the issue, with Congress since having left town for a nearly two-week recess.
The stakes of the high-profile debate – and Johnson’s pivotal role in a legislative response – came into even greater focus over the weekend. Global leaders gathered at the annual Munich Security Conference just as news broke that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny had died in prison, while Ukraine suffered a significant setback to Russian forces on the battlefield – twin developments that have injected a new sense of urgency for Congress to act as the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches this weekend and as the Ukrainian military warns it is running out of resources to resist.
“Should I bow to vast international and domestic pressure or should I suck Trump’s cock? Thinking… thinking… let me get my knee pads out while I consider this… well, no rush on Ukraine. Better put these knee pads on.”
“no rush” to address the issue
Brave Ukrainians, that didn’t have to, are dying.
I heard Ben Hodges say the house is on holidays until the end of the month. They left people to die while they went on holidays instead of voting.
That’s because Republicans are a death cult. They love to see people suffer, they love to see someone falter, they love to be the cause of that suffering.
All while pretending to care, all while pretending to emulate Jesus Christ. Fuck republicans with a giant cactus followed by a rust covered wrench.
A government that does not have the means to save every single life is different from a government that has the means to save a life but not the will to do so.
I’ll leave you to your musings.
The Senate passed the bill that will save lives. The President waits to sign the bill that will save lives as soon as it’s on his desk. The House is on vacation because leadership refuses to allow it to do its job and pass the life-saving bill.
This is not an “every moment of every day” situation and I don’t know what benefit you think comes from falsely normalizing it.
Glad to see that Republicans keep enabeling Genocide.
Reliably christian of them.
While I’m not surprised and I’m not sure if the current proposals are any different, I hate how dishonest the framing around our aid so far has been. Even in non-right-wing news, it’s regularly talked about as a dollar amount, implying that it is or will be a strain on our economy. In actuality, we are primarily supplying old equipment that, while better than what Russia has, is not the best we own and would use ourselves. All that to say, this is not some big drain on the country like some people would like us to believe.
In actuality, we are primarily supplying old equipment that,
I don’t know this for a fact, but sending this old equipment may actually save the USA money because it won’t have to be stored and maintained anymore. Maintenance, even on mothballed equipment isn’t free. Certain environmental controls are required to prevent corrosion and rusting. Certain fluids have to be changed even with little to no use of the equipment because of chemical breakdown over time. We’re talking years sometimes decades, but lots of this stuff we’re sending is from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, so at least 2 decades old but as much as 5 decades.
Clearing out all this stuff means we don’t have to pay the bill to maintain it.
All Ukraine is asking is that we send them what they need to kick invaders out of their country. They’ll do all the hard work themselves. Shut the fuck up and get it done, Johnson.
