The announcement of the death of Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison became the Washington war party’s newest weapon in its campaign to pressure the U.S. House of Representatives into passing legislation to provide tens of billions of dollars in military support to the Kiev regime.
President Joe Biden himself led the way with an appearance at the White House to make a statement on Navalny, taking a few questions from reporters along the way. Navalny’s death “reminds us of the stakes of this moment,” Biden blathered. “We have to provide the funding so Ukraine can keep defending itself against Putin’s vicious onslaughts and war crimes.” Therefore, the House must support Ukraine. “The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten. It’s going to go down in the pages of history. It really is. It’s consequential,” Biden went on. “And the clock is ticking. And this has to happen. We have to help now. You know, we have to realize what we’re dealing with with Putin.”
On Capitol Hill, Navalny’s death spurred calls from top lawmakers to finally pass tens of billions in stalled Ukraine aid. A bipartisan group of House lawmakers unveiled a new emergency spending bill that would grant over $47 billion to assist Ukraine, placing renewed pressure on Republican leaders to finally hold a vote on an aid package, reported Politico.
Despite the fresh attention and urgency on passing Ukraine aid, it’s unclear whether it will move the hardliners who insist that tackling the border crisis should be the priority, said Politico. “Perhaps I get more fired up about what’s going on in America not because I believe it’s worse than Russia or any other country, but because it’s my home,” Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) posted on social media.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries chided Republicans for holding up assistance, arguing in a statement that Navalny’s death marks “a time to choose.”
“The House must stand with the Ukrainian people in their courageous fight against Russian aggression. Those who do not risk forever being tarred in history as accomplices to Putin’s tyrannical regime,” Jeffries said. “The bipartisan national security legislation must be brought to the floor for an up or down vote immediately.”
“One way to punish Putin for killing Navalny?” Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) added on social media. “Pass the National Security Supplemental so the Ukrainians can destroy the rest of Putin’s army.”
