Michael McCaul (R-TX), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is worried about all of those Republican votes against aiding Ukraine. McCaul called the votes “very disturbing” during a Monday interview on “Washington Post Live” with reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell, reported The Hill yesterday. “I am going to be honest with you, yes, I am very worried,” McCaul said when asked about the Ukraine vote. “I personally thought it was irresponsible; I disagree with it,” McCaul added. “But every member is entitled to their own opinion.”
The Hill notes that 70 Republicans voted for an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, sponsored by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), that would have prohibited all future security assistance to Ukraine; and 89 Republicans voted for one by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) that would have cut $300 million from Ukraine aid.
McCaul said he “can’t think of a worse message to send to Putin” during a crucial point in the war, with Ukraine in the midst of a counteroffensive aiming to claw back Russian occupied areas (as The Hill put it). “If they are not successful in a counteroffensive, I think that’s going to greatly damage the morale of not only the Ukrainians but the will of the American people to support this fight,” McCaul said.
Meanwhile, over in the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is vowing to fight “toxic amendments” to the Senate version of the NDAA. Schumer, despite the Democratic majority in the Senate, is worried about a repeat of what happened in the House, the attachment of dozens of amendments on hot button social engineering issues that have little to do with defense. “As the NDAA comes to the floor this week, there may be attempts by some to add controversial and partisan amendments that would threaten” the unity that usually characterizes the passage of NDAA legislation, Schumer said, reported Politico. “Both sides must work to defeat any potentially toxic amendments that could jeopardize the Senate’s NDAA if adopted.”
It was the Biden administration that brought these social matters, such as abortion and so-called “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs into the Defense Department in the first place, matters which are now diverting both parties as well as millions of Americans from the danger inherent in the administration’s permanent war policies.
