Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Nearly five dozen House Republicans voted against a $40 billion aid package to help Ukraine fight off the violent Russian invasion of their country.
The aid package still passed the House by a vote of 368-57, with every Democrat voting in favor of helping Ukraine beat back Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose violent invasion has led to nearly more than 2,400 civilian deaths and thousands more injuries, according to the United Nations.
The bill includes both military funding to help the Ukrainians fight back against their Russian aggressors, as well as humanitarian aid to help the struggling citizens in the war-torn country.
Those 57 Republicans voted against the aid package as Democrats and Republicans alike described the funding as a vote against Putin — whose brutality is part of an effort to expand Russia's geographic footprint.
"This is a historic vote, and it could determine the course of this war, and to vote no is a vote for Putin," Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) toldPolitico.
The Republican "no" votes were from some of former President Donald Trump's biggest supporters in the House, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Jim Jordan (R-OH).
In February, at the start of Putin's invasion, Trump praised Putin as "smart," saying that the Russian dictator's decision to invade Ukraine was "genius" and "wonderful." In the months since, Russia has unleashed brutal attacks on civilians and has seen its military suffer losses — including of top Russian generals.
In a speech on the House floor, Greene said that the United States shouldn't help Ukraine because the country needs to stop "funding regime change and money laundering scams."
Polling, however, shows that providing aid to Ukraine is overwhelmingly popular among the typically polarized American electorate.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll from May 2 found that 76 percent of Americans say the United States should give more military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including a majority of people who voted for Trump.
Reprinted with permission from American Independent.
