Democrats help advance Ukraine, Israel aid in rare rules move
By: Mychael Schnell (The Hill)
Now it's official; Biden's wars belong to Democrats. Hard-line Republicans (and Trump) have provided 'I told ya so' cover for Republicans. The only way out of the impasse was for Democrats to assume full responsibility for Biden's quagmires.
Joe Biden has been making dire predictions for Ukraine since the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Biden tried to ride the 'Russian collusion' bandwagon to the hide the screwed pooch. And Ukraine had to pay the price. Biden's latest political problem is that Ukraine hasn't received any substantive aid from the United States for five months. Biden was able to scrape together $250 million in weapons as a Christmas gift to his pet Soviet. But other than that, the Ukrainians have been on their own. So, why isn't Putin in Warsaw threatening Helsinki by now? What happened to Biden's dire predictions?
What has changed is that Democrats now own Biden's dire predictions. There's absolutely no way that Ukraine can defeat Russia by itself. So the problem on the horizon for Democrats will be whether or not to commit US troops to the war. Kerry-esque excuses for riding the 'for it/against' it fence won't pass the smell test this time because the stakes are too high.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The House Rules Committee late Thursday night advanced a package of foreign aid bills — but only with help from Democrats who, in a rare move, supported the procedural vote amid opposition from a trio of hard-line Republicans.
The panel voted 9-3 to adopt the rule, which governs debate for the legislation, with Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) opposing the effort.
The successful vote allows the full House to vote on the rule and open debate on three foreign aid bills — sending assistance to Israel, Ukraine and allies in the Indo-Pacific — plus a fourth that includes other national security priorities, such as a TikTok ban.
Rule votes — in committee and on the floor — are typically mundane, party-line occurrences, with the members from the majority party backing the rule and lawmakers in the minority party voting against it. But with conservatives voting against the rule out of opposition to Ukraine aid and the exclusion of border security measures, Democrats crossed the aisle to back the procedural vote.
The rule for the foreign aid legislation allows votes on specific amendments to the Ukraine, Indo-Pacific and national security measures. The Israel bill, however, will not have any amendments considered.
Also included in the rule is language that says if the House approves each of the four bills — they will receive separate floor votes — they will be merged together and sent to the Senate as one package.
Thursday night's successful rule votes mark a crucial hurdle cleared for the foreign aid package, which has faced intense criticism from hard-line Republicans since Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) unveiled the outline for his plan Monday.
The legislation includes $26.38 billion for Israel, $60.84 billion for Ukraine and $8.12 billion for allies in the Indo-Pacific. The fourth national security bill features a ban of TikTok in the U.S. if the platform's parent company does not sell it, language to send some of the new Ukraine aid in the form of a loan, and a provision that allows the administration to use seized Russian assets to help cover the costs of Ukrainian reconstruction.
The bipartisan vote, however, could land Johnson in more hot water with his right flank. Hard-line conservatives have been up in arms with Johnson's propensity to cut deals with Democrats over the criticism of Republicans — a dynamic that has become necessary in the narrowly divided House, but one that continues to incense conservatives.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate — the same mechanism used to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — against Johnson late last month, but she has not said when she plans to force a vote on the resolution.
Massie announced earlier this week that he would be signing on to the legislation as a co-sponsor.
House GOP leadership also teed up a vote on a separate border bill Thursday meant to appease hard-liners who were frustrated that Johnson's foreign aid package excluded provisions to address the situation at the southern border.
The House will consider that bill under suspension of the rules process Friday, which eliminates the need to first pass a procedural rule but also requires two-thirds support for passage.
Leadership initially tried to move the bill through regular order, but opposition from conservatives on the Rules Committee scuttled those plans.
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Democrats have tied their political future to the survival of an autocratic Soviet government in Ukraine. That's a consequence of Barack Obama's 'Arab Spring' diplomatic efforts that rational people knew were doomed to failure. But this time really is different. Democrats have chosen to take a bullet for Biden. Now these are Democrats' quagmires. And the consequences won't be so easy to avoid.
“Democrats have tied their political future to the survival of an autocratic Soviet government in Ukraine.”
Beg to differ. Ukrainian sovereignty is indeed an important issue, but down the list of priorities in an election year. Democrats have ‘tied their political future’ on the survival of a woman’s right to determine her personal medical decisions. The gop, in their misguided myopia, is in greater danger of becoming irrelevant in a concerted effort to deny the same…and not even considering their flag bearer.
How can a US puppet state retain national sovereignty? Ukraine has only exchanged Moscow for Washington D.C.; changing the name doesn't alter the Soviet nature of the relationship.
How has that worked out for Iraq? Didn't the US support the revolutionary insurgency of 'Arab spring' in Syria and walk away when winning became impossible? Keep in mind that the US was guardian of democracy in Afghanistan, too. Biden only wanted a victory parade and Democrats backed him up until failure couldn't be hidden any longer.
So, Democrats are going to need to decide whether they'll support boots on the ground in Ukraine or throw Ukraine under the bus like Afghanistan. Democrats no longer have the luxury of claiming they're victims Trump and hard line Republicans (who oppose the quagmire). Democrats have been forced to accept a long term commitment to an unwinnable war.
You mean that "Democrats political future" is not "tied" to a woman's right to decide whether or not she chooses to have an abortion?
Who knew???
Putin has been threating Finland as recently as last month.
There hasn't been aid from the United States. Biden can't claim he's kept Putin out of Helsinki. Finland seems to be faring well without the United States.
So, why does the US taxpayer need to carry an apparently unnecessary burden? Just so Biden can score political points?
Of course, he can claim it, as can NATO, I don't see Putin waltzing down Aleksanterinkatu do you? Why do you think Finland and Sweden applied for membership in NATO?
Annexing countries is kinda expensive. Especially when those countries hate your guts. (Refer to Afghanistan for proof.) So, explain why Putin would want to take on that expense. Especially when it requires robbing oligarchs to pay the bills.
So, why should we believe Biden's dire predictions? Biden is trying to use the military as a jobs program for high school drop outs and illegal immigrants. Biden has told the world the US ain't gonna fight unless Putin attacks Helsinki. We know what Biden gets out of that promise. What would Putin get from attacking Helsinki?
Your reasoning is piss poor. Finland joined NATO to deter Putin from doing to them, what they did to Ukraine. IF they try it brings the full weight of NATO to bear against Russia. Biden is, in part, instrumental in getting Finland and Sweden into NATO. How do you think Turkey capitulated on their vote?
Bankrolling Ukraine and bankrupting Putin is INSURANCE!
Relatively cheap ultimately priceless impediment to Vlad...
you say without anything to back it up... Biden doesn't want to start another war with actual US troops. Neither does NATO.
There are two reasons for what Putin is doing. First he wants a return to the old USSR and to distract for how shitty Russia has been for the last few years. Putin wants Russia to be the big dog in an age where Western capitalism is turning former soviet countries away. Russia has no control and less influence in the world.
Who said we believe Bidens Dire's predictions, and who proved that they were dire or false?
He is!!!!!!! do you have a link for the stats on that? You did forget to mention brown people but what about Red, Black and Yellow people? Oh wait, brown people cover all that is wrong with society in the US.
From comments that you've made over the years on NT I would think that the white world world could easily solve the problem and move on.
Give it go, nerm. Show us how to do it.
What reasoning?
Bankrolling Ukraine is a waste of money. And Ukraine is certainly not necessary to bankrupt Putin or Russia.
International ties gave us a pandemic that killed a million. Maintaining those international ties are major contributors to climate change with supposedly will cause human extinction.
So, we're just supposed to party like it's 1999. And wait for 2k to kill us all. The threat that never materialized.
What a deplorable view of your fellow human beings. Just let putin keep murdering innocents.
Haven't heard about the military's difficulty in meeting recruitment needs? The easiest way to address that challenge is to lower standards; sort of like affirmative action for the military. The Army has been flipping and flopping on lowering recruitment standards, too. If the military will accept transgender then why not high school drop outs? Or are we only going to fight woke wars?
This is at the heart of Biden's foreign policy. Biden has been utilizing the old Cold War strategy of forward deployment as deterrent. More than 15 pct of the active military has been deployed outside the United States. And, yes, Europe has been utilizing NATO to exploit American taxpayers to get a free ride. Neither NATO or the EU are prepared to defend Europe; they're relying on US taxpayers to bail them out. And Biden has been happy to oblige.
Think of Ukraine as the MAGA of Europe.
Does your outrage include Hamas for murdering innocents?
Let us hope not, because MAGA are losers...
Pathetically our National Security falls behind the security of Ukraine.
No, the US bending over for Russia in Ukraine is not in American security interests, would send all the wrong signals and would be a monumental mistake, but Vlad Putin does really appreciate his MAGA supporters...
They brag about Putin's MAGA supporters on Pro-Putin Russian TV!
It's hilarious you actually think I'm going to take you serious. Especially when you haven't backed up your idiotic claim.
Thanks for verifying my statement.
You may support Putin. I support Biden, America and Ukraine!
Still with the unfounded claims.
Now that is laughable.
No Jeremy, it is not funny at all that MAGA delaying badly needed aid to Ukraine may hand.victory to Putin in Ukraine!
What in hell do you find funny about that?
It's pathetic that we, the United States, are struggling while free money is going to another country. What I find funny is that you support sending money to other countries instead of taking care fo the problems here.
So your idea is a stronger russia?
My idea is a stronger UNITED STATES.
Why do you want the US to surrender to Putin in Ukraine?
Please quote what he wrote that led you to think that is what he wants.
Has Biden gotten us into a war with Russia now, and didn't bother to tell anyone?
You should be worried about the State of New York surrendering to Hamas at the University of Columbia. How sad is it that that Jewish students are being told to leave campus because they aren't safe on campus?
One of the little terrorist girls is representing Brooklyn, everyone must be proud!
I know this will never happen under a Biden pro hamas administration, but the FBI should use the same technology used to identify J6 defendants to identify the little terrorists "protesting" pro Hamas around the country, and investigate if they have any ties to terrorist organizations.
Guaranteed if some of these little terrorists start getting arrested for terrorist charges, the "protests" will stop.
How stupid is that question?
And where did I mention the US surrendering to ANYBODY?
There’s pretty much a Charlottesville every day now and Biden does nothing .
amazing what a scandal that one protest was, and now Jewish students are told not to attend a major University because of safety issues, Biden is silent and the media barely notices.
Biden surrendered to Putin before Russia invaded Ukraine. Biden promised that no US troops would fight in Ukraine. But we've still increased deployment of Troops to NATO countries. We're increased arms shipments to NATO countries as well as Ukraine. American taxpayers are carrying to burden of supplying Ukraine and modernizing European defenses.
Keep in mind that Biden lied to us before with the 'inflation Reduction Act' which certainly had nothing to do with reducing inflation. Just because the supplemental appropriation is called 'Aid for Ukraine' doesn't really mean much. This about making the rich richer just as happened with the Inflation Reduction Act.
Wrong. What’s “official” is that this aid - and the process being utilized to pass it - has bipartisan support. Stop trying to make everything tribal and adversarial.
Establishment Republicans again prove they are no better than Democrats.
They are willing to sell out their constituents in order to say "Look we passed something" even if that something is a steaming pile of garbage that harms the US.
Good. Blunt Russia's expanionist ideas early and less costly.
Ukrainian aid like, aid to Israel and Taiwan advances US security interests. Unlike like the other two, almost all US Ukrainian aid is spent right here.
About 90% of what's been allocated thus far is spent in the USA. It's spent on over 100 defense manufacturing production lines. There are still additional lines and suppliers providing components and sub-assemblies to those 100+. Those represent both good jobs and a strengthening of our military production capacity.
In addition to buying new production, many of our weapons going to Ukraine are existing, older models from our stockpiles and we use the aid dollars to replace them with new, more advanced, versions, we are using Ukraine aid money to modernize our military.
This has started up old production liners that have gone cold Stinger anti aircraft missiles and 155 mm howitzer shells. Many of these systems have a less expensive unit price when purchased in greater volume. PAC-3 missiles, that we we buying at 350 per year get a price break when production doubles.
This investment helps build international trust that we won't abandon are commitments will increasing our military capability and manufacturing jobs. A triple win that some House members need to explain why they voted against their districts economic interests.
Is that a fact. So, where does the money come from? Ukraine ain't paying for anything. Europe is spending its money in Europe. And Biden tells us that corporations and the rich are not paying taxes. So, where does the money come from?
So, Biden is spending a lot of money on single-use, disposable items. Ukraine gets a bang out of it but what do we get? Do we get roads and bridges repaired? Do we get another razzle-dazzle space program? Do we get more student loan bail-outs? Do we get more EV chargers?
So, where does the money come from? Biden tells us corporations and the rich are not paying taxes. And if Biden is just pulling the money out of thin air then we'll all pay for it with inflation.
Yeah? What have we gotten from those commitments in the past? We've grown the number of homeless veterans. We've gotten all sorts of snazzy advertising to beg donations for wounded warriors. We've gotten parades of black clad motorcycles riding under a black flag. What we haven't gotten since the end of WWII is a victory parade. What war has the United States won since Soviet troops captured Berlin and decapitated the Nazi government?
Our defense spending hasn't secured the southern border. Anyone from around the world can enter the United States. Our defense spending has not protected us from Chinese balloons. We're told we don't have enough to defend Taiwan and must spend more. So, what have we gotten from defense spending other than inflation?
If we end up getting dragged into a NATO war in Europe I wish I could rendition every single person who opposed helping Ukraine to a US military morgue unit.
I think many people world wide have a misconception of what the NATO charter/agreements actually says and in particular art 5.
Get the fuck out of NATO and we won't be drawn into another European war. Why are we committing to fighting wars that Europe starts?
You do know that Moscow is just as European as Kyiv. Right? You do understand that the war in Ukraine is a war between two European countries. Right? You do understand that Russia could become a member of NATO if it wishes to make the attempt. Right?
St. Petersburgh, Russia, is closer to the United States than Kiev, Ukraine. Moscow is farther west than Mariupol, Ukraine. Crimea, Ukraine, is south of Moscow. Russia is as European as Ukraine.
Europeans have started another war between themselves. So, why do we have to pay for that? The United States is not allowed to join the European Union. So, Europe is, at the least, an economic competitor of the United States. Europe is not working in the best interests of the United States.
I hope you mean working in that unit
Yes. They can have first hand experience on what Russia is capable of.
No.
Are you ignoring all the times Russia has invaded US Air Space on purpose, or do you only get your talking points from Russian propaganda news sites? It's only been weeks since the last time they've done it.
Except Kyiv wants to be part of NATO and Russia doesn't. Right? Russia wants to be the bully here, not the hero.
You think we have inflation issues now? Wait until Europe stops trading with us.
For those who don't know, but aren't so lazy as to want to know...
I got a kick out of when Argentina decided not too align with BRICS and went to say they wanted to apply to NATO.
But NATO is supposedly obsolete......
Yes, it's a little weird. Milei's trying to reverse years of anti-western attitude and bring back trade. Argentina used to be an ideal vacation destination for Europeans and Americans and it would be nice to see that happen again.
I don't see that as a suicide pact, matter of fact I see the choice of what to do is left to the individual member states.
Nor do I. In other news I see Poland is talking about housing nukes.
Uhoh.....that's gonna piss off the Kremlin and the putinista fluffers, not to mention the olive branch bearing turn the other cheek doves.
I'm willing to bet the kremlins and Putin's intelligence agents are not going above ground floor and refusing any offered tea....
Past few years have been one clusterfuck after another for them with the amount of times they have been wrong as ratshit in raisin bran.
For certain. There are probably more implications to that announcement than you and I are aware of.
I would much rather sent supplies to Ukraine than have our sons and daughters return in body bags. The battle is going to continue and Russia must be stopped.
Better to pay for aid now and let Ukraine do the fighting than later have to pay more and send our troops.
That isn't even considering the confirmation of past intelligence and the revelation of current statuses of the kremlins capabilities.