Facts

Trump and allies have already choked off aid

Trump’s allies in Congress blocked continued military support to Ukraine to make it easier for Trump to cut off aid if he is elected.

Fox News reported that Senator Rand Paul argued that “Democrats are ‘setting up’ for a possible Trump presidential win.

“They’re locking in foreign aid that will even tie the hands of the next president,” Paul told Fox News Digital in an interview. “So, I think it’s a terrible idea.”

The New York Times reported:

Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has been leading an effort to slow-walk the military assistance measure, on Monday called the idea that bolstering Ukraine was essential to America’s national security “ludicrous.”

“I think sending money to Ukraine actually makes our national security more endangered,” Mr. Paul said. “The leadership has come together, but it is the wrong kind of compromise. It is a compromise to loot the Treasury. They are shoveling out borrowed cash.”

The Guardian reported:

The Ohio senator JD Vance, another Trump loyalist, claimed the effort to replenish Ukraine’s war chest was a “plot” by the Republican establishment to “stop the election of Donald Trump”. Meanwhile, some arch-conservatives suggested it was time for McConnell to step down.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Vance told Carlson of the aid bill, “It doesn’t just fund Ukraine in 2024, and this is the most important point. It actually funds Ukraine in ’25 and ’26.” 

He claimed Schumer and friends were trying to ensure that Ukraine funding would continue past this year and well into the future. Vance pinpointed one reason why this could be so sinister.

“Now what’s the problem with that?” the senator asked. “Say, for example, that we have a new president in 2025. That president would be handcuffed by the promises that we are making in law to Ukraine today.”

Glenn C. Altschuler, Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University, explained:

The puppet-master here is of course former President Trump, who opposes any military assistance to Ukraine and pressured congressional Republicans to kill the border-security compromise because it deprived him of a potent political issue. Trump falsely claims that Ukraine aid has left the United States without enough “ammunition for ourselves.” He has toldRepublicans to refuse to authorize “a single additional shipment of our depleted weapons stockpiles … to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ, and IRS hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden Crime Family’s corrupt business dealings.” Trump refuses to say whether he wants Russia or Ukraine to win the war or whether Putin should return Ukrainian land seized in 2014. And he never mentions the massive financial assistance European countries are providing to Ukraine.

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4466516-the-stakes-in-ukraine-are-too-high-for-the-gop-houses-partisan-nonsense/

Sen Paul says Ukraine aid package would ‘tie the hands’ of future administrations

Sen. Rand Paul agrees with Sen. J.D. Vance’s memo that Ukraine aid package could handcuff Trump if he wins 2024 presidential election.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-paul-says-ukraine-aid-package-would-tie-the-hands-of-future-administrations

The Curious Conservative Case Against Defending Ukraine

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/opinion/republican-ukraine-russia.html

Republicans’ topsy-turvy take on aid for Ukraine reveals party in thrall to Trump

Defense hawks such as Lindsey Graham who once demanded greater backing for Kyiv are now toeing the America First line

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/13/republicans-ukraine-aid-analysis-trump

Republicans warn of ‘impeachment time bomb’ in Ukraine aid that could target Trump

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2854366/republicans-warn-of-impeachment-time-bomb-in-ukraine-aid-that-could-target-trump/#google_vignette

The stakes in Ukraine are too high for the House GOP’s partisan nonsense

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4466516-the-stakes-in-ukraine-are-too-high-for-the-gop-houses-partisan-nonsense/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2854366/republicans-warn-of-impeachment-time-bomb-in-ukraine-aid-that-could-target-trump/#google_vignette