For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
This Sunday, all eyes were on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) — and despite some rumblings from a few House Republicans threatening to take his gavel via the same Motion to Vacate that ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — members of both parties (surprise!) came to his defense.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) sang Johnson&#8217;s praises on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; saying that his efforts to shepherd an aid bill — for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan — through the House over the objections of some within his own party had displayed a &#8220;profile in courage.&#8221;
&#8220;I am so proud of the Speaker, Mike Johnson,&#8221; McCaul told ABC host Jonathan Karl. &#8220;He went through a transformation &#8230; putting the nation above yourself.&#8221;
Johnson, when asked about attempts to oust him from the speakership, said that his intention was simply to do his job, not to walk around the Capitol fretting about whether or not someone would put forth a Motion to Vacate.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson displayed a “profile in courage” by pushing through $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan despite opposition from some members of his own party, GOP Rep. Michael McCaul says. 
“He went through a transformation.” <a href="https://t.co/EtsIH1fSpA">https://t.co/EtsIH1fSpA</a> <a href="https://t.co/MHqjFrv9ut">pic.twitter.com/MHqjFrv9ut</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1782039779476992405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Foreign Affairs Committee Chair went on to say that he believed Johnson had done &#8220;the right thing&#8221; in supporting the aid package, arguing that the United States could not abandon Ukraine the same way President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration had abandoned Afghanistan.
&#8220;I think the stock in Mike Johnson has gone way up. I think the respect for him has gone way up — because he did the right thing.&#8221;
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“I think the stock in Mike Johnson has gone way up. I think the respect for him has gone way up — because he did the right thing,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a>. <a href="https://t.co/EtsIH1fSpA">https://t.co/EtsIH1fSpA</a> <a href="https://t.co/0rkUJAoF1A">pic.twitter.com/0rkUJAoF1A</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1782045250770423842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Despite being a member of the opposition party, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) threw his support behind Johnson as well — largely because of his work to pass the Ukraine aid package — and said that he would even go so far as to vote to support the Republican Speaker, should a Motion to Vacate force another vote.
&#8220;I would actually vote to table any motion to vacate him &#8230; He did the right thing here and he deserves to keep his job until the end of the term,&#8221; Khanna told Karl. But Khanna made it clear his goodwill toward Johnson would be short-lived, noting that he believed Democrats would retake the House in November — so once the current term ends, he believes the new House Speaker might be House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
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Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> that he would vote to support Speaker Mike Johnson if Republicans tried to remove him for securing Ukraine aid. 
&quot;He did the right thing here and he deserves to keep his job until the end of this term.” <a href="https://t.co/xaDuxyoG51">https://t.co/xaDuxyoG51</a> <a href="https://t.co/znG8X4S0KR">pic.twitter.com/znG8X4S0KR</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1782050865592807523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Even Donna Brazile, former interim Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), voiced her tentative approval of Speaker Johnson: &#8220;I have to say this, I&#8217;m a Louisianan, I&#8217;m always proud when Louisiana people come through — especially someone with LSU ties.&#8221;
She went on to say that while Johnson was certainly not what she would call a &#8220;moderate,&#8221; &#8220;at the end of the day, he decided to go with history and to be the soul who understood what&#8217;s at stake.&#8221;
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Speaker Johnson “decided to go with history and to be the soul who understood what’s at stake,” former DNC chair <a href="https://twitter.com/donnabrazile?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DonnaBrazile</a> says after Democrats helped Johnson avoid defeat on foreign aid bills despite GOP objections. <a href="https://t.co/Dlkg8lTeqJ">https://t.co/Dlkg8lTeqJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cs0vbRXy8g">pic.twitter.com/Cs0vbRXy8g</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1782107737217740931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Several other shows on the Sunday circuit played variations on the same theme.
On CBS&#8217; &#8220;Face the Nation,&#8221; Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) told host Margaret Brennan that he didn&#8217;t think there would be enough Republicans to vote Johnson out of the Speakership.
&#8220;You gotta take anything seriously,&#8221; Cole said of the threats to oust Johnson — but he also said that he didn&#8217;t believe they&#8217;d be successful because not as many Republicans would oppose Johnson as had opposed McCarthy and some Democrats (like Khanna) were likely to vote to protect Johnson because they agreed with him on the Ukraine aid at least.
He also argued that too many House members — from both parties — likely remembered how chaotic things had been when they did not have a Speaker at all. &#8220;They also had a taste of what it&#8217;s like to go without a speaker for three weeks. I don&#8217;t think they want that again,&#8221; he said.
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“I don&#39;t think so,” GOP Rep. <a href="https://twitter.com/TomColeOK04?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomColeOK04</a> says when asked whether eight Republicans would vote to oust Speaker Johnson after the Ukraine aid vote.
&quot;They also had a taste of what it&#39;s like to go without a speaker for three weeks. I don&#39;t think they want that again.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/p3m39zbyLn">pic.twitter.com/p3m39zbyLn</a>
&mdash; Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1782068043431964899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) addressed the issue on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; saying, &#8220;The House is a rough and rowdy place, but Mike Johnson is going to be just fine.&#8221;
&#8220;Unlike Joe Biden&#8217;s poor Uncle Bosie, I think Mike Johnson&#8217;s going to avoid the cannibals in his own party,&#8221; Republican commentator Ken Jennings agreed. &#8220;He stood up to them this weekend, and the adults retook control of the U.S. Congress &#8230; I think and I hope that Democrats will continue to stand with Mike Johnson for a functional Congress.&#8221;
&#8220;You know, there&#8217;s a wide middle in this country,&#8221; Jennings continued, saying that Johnson&#8217;s goal appeared to be to drag American politics &#8220;away from the dysfunctional fringe&#8221; and back into that middle space.
Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield agreed, saying that Johnson &#8220;should absolutely get credit for taking a bold position here. He probably decided, you know what, this job isn&#8217;t worth having if I&#8217;m not doing something. So I think it was impressive and I think the way he laid out a values-driven argument, particularly for Ukraine, was impressive.&#8221;
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Republican Rep. slams hardliners in his own party: &#39;The way you take care of a bully is you bloody their nose.&#39;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepTonyGonzales?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepTonyGonzales</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/JamalSimmons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamalSimmons</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/KBeds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KBeds</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottJenningsKY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScottJenningsKY</a> join <a href="https://twitter.com/DanaBashCNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DanaBashCNN</a> to discuss the threats to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. <a href="https://t.co/IDbCimn03K">pic.twitter.com/IDbCimn03K</a>
&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1782064560762925294?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Not everyone got the memo that Sunday was Mike Johnson’s day, however. Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, for example, kept hammering the same nail she&#8217;s been working at since landing her MSNBC show — &#8220;Inside With Jen Psaki&#8221;: former President Donald Trump.
The majority of Psaki&#8217;s show was an interview with Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) — who has often been floated as a likely replacement candidate in the event that President Joe Biden has to exit the 2024 race — and while they focused primarily on abortion, they did take time to discuss Trump&#8217;s Manhattan hush-money trial.
Psaki brought up the trial — along with reports that some people believe it actually helps Trump more than it hurts him — and asked Newsom how he would explain to voters why the trial matters.
The California governor argued briefly that it should matter to everyone — but quickly pivoted to warn Psaki that he didn&#8217;t think it helpful in the long run to give more attention to Trump. &#8220;When we&#8217;re focusing on him, I do worry, electorally, that he has a slight advantage. I&#8217;m a little concerned about the overindulgence &#8230; The consequential nature of a criminal trial is profound and outsized in some respects, but not more outsized than democracy.&#8221;
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GavinNewsom</a>: “When we&#39;re focusing on him, I do worry, electorally, that he has a slight advantage. I&#39;m a little concerned about the overindulgence&#8230; The consequential nature of a criminal trial is profound and outsized in some respects, but not more outsized than democracy.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/wH5z41qetA">pic.twitter.com/wH5z41qetA</a>
&mdash; Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) <a href="https://twitter.com/InsideWithPsaki/status/1782109034075590764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA)

Sunday Media Wrap: All Eyes On Mike Johnson As House Pushes Through Spending Bill

ABC News

CBS News

Israel

Media

Mike Johnson

MSNBC

Politics

Readers Pass

Ukraine-Russia War

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) praised former President Donald Trump over the weekend for throwing his support behind House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the House spending package that helps fund Ukraine&#8217;s war against Russia.
The House took separate votes late last week on each aid proposal with $60 billion allocated for Ukraine, about $17 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid, and $8 billion to support Taiwan. Another bill that could ban TikTok if the company is not divested from Chinese control was also passed.
&#8220;This idea, give up on Ukraine makes the world safer, if you pull the plug on Ukraine because you don&#8217;t have enough capability, there goes Taiwan,&#8221; Graham said during an interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday.”
&#8220;Ukrainians are fighting like tigers. This aid package has a loan component to it,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;This would not have passed without Donald Trump. I want to thank the House Speaker and Hakeem Jeffries working together in a bipartisan fashion, to give weapons to Ukraine to fight a fight that matters to us.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;And President Trump has created a loan component to this package that gives us leverage down the road. So this idea that we can&#8217;t help Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan at the same time, I reject that. I reject it totally.&#8221;
WATCH:
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I appreciate the House for working together to pass aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
The idea that the United States will be safer if we pull the plug on our friends and allies overseas is wrong. <a href="https://t.co/O0mlpYElc4">pic.twitter.com/O0mlpYElc4</a>
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1782061180363665509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote>

Press Briefing by US Senator Lindsey Graham in Kyiv

Senator Graham: $60 Billion Aid Package For Ukraine ‘Would Not Have Passed Without Trump’

Donald Trump

Lindsey Graham

Ukraine

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the U.S. House of Representatives over the weekend for passing tens of billions of dollars in military aid to his country as it continues to fight against invading Russian forces.
Zelensky made the remarks during a Sunday interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; with Kristen Welker while talking about the ammunition shortages his country has faced.
&#8220;This aid will strengthen Ukraine, and send the Kremlin a powerful signal that it will not be the second Afghanistan,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The United States will stay with Ukraine, will protect the Ukrainians, and they will protect – they will protect democracy in the world. This is the show of leadership and strength of the United States. And I think, indeed, now we&#8217;ve reached this important moment. For half a year we&#8217;ve been waiting and I would like to say thanks to all the team on my side and on the U.S. side, the team who did everything so that we would get this positive vote. And today, we definitely need this aid. And Kristen, we really need to get this to the final point. We need to get it approved by the Senate. And then we want to get things as fast as possible so that we get some tangible assistance for the soldiers on the front line as soon as possible, not in another six months, so that they will be able to move ahead.&#8221;
He said that Ukraine needed to quickly get its hands on &#8220;crucial weapon systems,&#8221; specifically ones that are long range.
&#8220;The long-range artillery and I really appreciate that it mentions ATACMs, long-range weapons,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And it&#8217;s important because we need long-range weapons to not lose people on the front line. Because we have – we have casualties because we cannot reach that far. Our weapons are not that long-range. So we need it, and air defense. This is crucial. These are the priorities now.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Americans are not ‘funding’ war in Ukraine, they’re ‘protecting freedom’: Full Zelenskyy interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8pCvafMV6r0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-u-s-general-in-europe-issues-stark-warning-about-russian-military">Top U.S. General In Europe Issues Stark Warning About Russian Military</a>

Vice Chancellor Habeck visits Kiev

Zelensky Praises U.S. For Passing Aid Bill In House

military aid

Military Weapons

Volodymyr Zelensky

As Congress debates another aid package to Ukraine, former President Donald Trump laid out his thoughts on the issue in a Truth Social post on Thursday, blasting European nations for not doing more to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Trump didn&#8217;t weigh in specifically on the current debate between Republicans on Capitol Hill over Ukraine aid, but said Ukraine&#8217;s survival &#8220;is also important to&#8221; the United States. The former president then called on American allies in Europe to do more to assist Ukraine.
&#8220;Why isn’t Europe giving more money to help Ukraine? Why is it that the United States is over $100 Billion Dollars into the Ukraine War more than Europe, and we have an Ocean between us as separation! Why can’t Europe equalize or match the money put in by the United States of America in order to help a Country in desperate need?&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112293507314520477" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a>.
&#8220;As everyone agrees, Ukrainian Survival and Strength should be much more important to Europe than to us, but it is also important to us! GET MOVING EUROPE!&#8221; he added. &#8220;In addition, I am the only one who speaks for &#8216;ME&#8217; and, while it is a total mess caused by Crooked Joe Biden and the Incompetent Democrats, if I were President, this War would have never started!&#8221;
European financial and humanitarian aid for Ukraine has surpassed that coming from the U.S., but American military assistance for Ukraine still far outweighs what the country is receiving from its European neighbors, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4603096-trump-asks-why-europe-isnt-giving-ukraine-more-aid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. According to the Institute for the World Economy&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine Support Tracker</a>,&#8221; which was last updated in mid-February, U.S. military commitments to Ukraine stand at over $42 billion. Germany, the second-biggest military supporter of Ukraine, has committed nearly $18 billion while the U.K. has pledged just over $9 billion in military support to Ukraine.
Combined, European nations would have to double their pace of military aid for Ukraine to match what&#8217;s coming from the U.S., according to The Hill.
Earlier this week, House Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-gop-unveils-foreign-aid-bills-expects-final-vote-over-weekend" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed a trio of bills</a> focused on aiding allies around the globe, including Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. One of the bills would allocate $61 billion for the Ukraine-Russia war, but some of that money would go toward assisting regional partners while a third of the money is earmarked for replenishing America&#8217;s military assets.
Another bill proposed by Republicans would provide $26 billion for supporting Israel in its war against Hamas and reimbursing U.S. military operations, along with humanitarian aid. A third piece of legislation would allocate around $8 billion for U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan.
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Members of the House Freedom Caucus signaled opposition to the foreign aid bills put forward by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Both the wars in Europe and the Middle East broke out well into President Joe Biden&#8217;s first term in the White House. The president is struggling to address the foreign conflicts while seeking maintain support from the far-Left heading into the 2024 presidential election. Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reacts-to-irans-attack-on-israel-would-never-have-happened-if-i-were-president" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> his political rival last weekend after the conflict in the Middle East escalated when Iran attacked Israel with missiles and drones.
“ISRAEL IS UNDER ATTACK!&#8221; Trump wrote on Truth Social in the hours following Iran&#8217;s missile barrage. &#8220;This should never have been allowed to happen – This would NEVER have happened if I were President!”
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

Trump Blasts European Nations For Not Matching U.S. Military Aid To Ukraine

Conflicts

Europe

Being Speaker of the House with an extraordinarily slim majority is a really tough job. You have to cut deals because you have no other capacity to get anything done. That’s because given the fact there is a one-vote “motion to vacate” rule that is in place in the House of Representatives, any one member of the Republican caucus can challenge the job of the Speaker of the House at any given time.
It also means if a bunch of headline-grabbing people in the Republican caucus are more interested in being on television than in actually governing, maintaining a majority, or growing that majority to get big things done, that can hold up the works.
All this is coming to a head because House Speaker Mike Johnson has now put forward a series of bills related to foreign aid. 
Foreign aid is not the United States being wildly charitable. It is not the United States randomly deciding to drop goody bags in poor parts of the world. It does not involve simply sending food to Somalia or something of that nature. When it comes to foreign aid, there are always strings attached.
That&#8217;s what makes it in America&#8217;s interest. It’s the same way as attempting to sponsor a friend in order to accomplish a particular goal; you might lend or give that friend money to get back on their feet in order to make sure that person remains a friend or that an ally is able to be strong.
That is what American foreign aid does, and this has historically been the role of American foreign aid. In the aftermath of World War II, the United States effectively single-handedly rebuilt Europe with the Marshall Plan.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1950-will-america-s-cowardly-streak-continue-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
A lot of people on the Republican side of the aisle have said that all foreign aid is somehow bad, terrible, useless, or, worse than useless, that it’s counterproductive because we&#8217;re not spending it at home; thus, we shouldn&#8217;t be spending it at all.
Such an argument is insanely shortsighted because there are two ways we spend our defense money. One: actual defense, meaning, for example, creating F-35s, F-22s, aircraft carriers, and submarines. Two: providing for our national defense by strengthening our allies.
When our allies are not strong, we have to step in and take the lead. It turns out that stepping in is a lot more expensive. Allies who are unable to defend themselves lead to enemies who are able to take advantage of that, thus threatening American interests and forcing American involvement. This has happened over and over in American history. When our allies are not strong enough, the United States ends up taking a lead role in areas we have no interest in being.
Foreign aid represents well under 1% of the federal budget of the United States nearly every year. Yet I have been noticing a lot of people screaming to the heavens about the cost of foreign aid: “Oh, I can&#8217;t believe how much this is costing.”
There are some people who are consistent libertarians. There are some people who say the government shouldn&#8217;t be spending on Social Security, disability, welfare, and foreign aid. That is, at least, a consistent position. I think it&#8217;s wrongheaded because America&#8217;s foreign policy interests require that we have strong allies who eventually will be able to take care of themselves.
But there is also a group of people in the Republican Party who are taking the view that foreign aid is a uniquely bad spend, that we&#8217;re wasting taxpayer dollars.
I don&#8217;t believe this is about fiscal responsibility, as they proclaim. When you continue to vote in favor of $5, $6, $7 trillion budgets every single year, but foreign aid is where you begin pinching pennies, I start to get a little suspicious.
We currently spend about 22% of our federal budget every year on Social Security, which is a giant Ponzi scheme because it is a defined benefits plan, not a defined contribution plan. What you pay in is not, in fact, what you get out. For most people, you get out way more from Social Security than you ever paid in. Health care, which is Medicare/Medicaid, represents about 26% of the federal budget. National defense only represents 13% of the federal budget.
So when you tell me that you are deeply worried about the less-than-one percent spent on foreign aid to allies in war time, I think that perhaps you have a different set of priorities.
That suggests to me that there may be a set of ulterior motives I don&#8217;t fully understand. I don&#8217;t really understand what the motivation is for those who seem to suggest that Russia taking Ukraine is of zero interest to the United States. Russia taking Ukraine would be of major interest to the United States, not only because Ukraine is the third largest producer of wheat on planet Earth, but also because Ukraine is strategically placed directly on the border between Russia and Europe, which is presumably the reason why Vladimir Putin wants it. It would be a danger to Eastern Europe, particularly the Baltic states, if Russia were to take Ukraine. 
Ukraine’s border being far from the borders of Lithuania and Latvia creates a massive problem for the Russian military. They would have to worry about NATO&#8217;s forces being deployed against Russia via Ukraine. It would free up American forces, NATO&#8217;s forces, and allied forces to fight an invasion of NATO&#8217;s allies like Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Right now, Ukraine is fighting NATO&#8217;s war. That is a reality. Ukraine is weakening the Russian military and providing a bulwark against NATO&#8217;s states being invaded.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/mike-johnsons-ukraine-israel-aid-plan-implodes-as-republicans-rebel-c5da23af" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on this, saying:
<blockquote>House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he would plunge ahead with a high-stakes vote to move long-stalled funding for Ukraine, Israel and other overseas allies, elbowing aside criticism from his conservative flank. The move sets up an unpredictable weekend showdown that could determine both the fate of the foreign-aid package—and Johnson’s political career.</blockquote>
Democrats will line up behind the aid effort. Johnson&#8217;s plan is to bring the subjects of Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the TikTok ban, and package all of them together. The reality is that all of them are going to pass with a majority of both parties voting in favor.
Yes, Johnson will require Democratic support in order to pass that bill. A majority of Republicans in the House will vote for that bill. Also, there is a Democratic Senate and a Democratic president, which means that if it is any priority for Ukraine not to simply fall by running out of ammo to the Russians, then you’ve got to make the deal that you can make.
In an interview <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/politics/mike-johnson-foreign-aid-analysis/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with CNN</a>, Johnson stated: 
<blockquote>Since World War II, really, the responsibility for the free world has been shifted onto our shoulders. And we accept that role. We&#8217;re an exceptional nation. We&#8217;re the greatest nation on the planet, and we have to act like it. And we have to project to Putin and Xi and Iran and North Korea and anybody else that we will defend freedom. It doesn&#8217;t mean boots on the ground. We&#8217;re not the world&#8217;s policeman, but we&#8217;re going to do the right thing. And I think the Congress is going to take an important stand here.</blockquote>
This is basic Reagan Republicanism. I know “Reagan” has become a dirty word for some reason, despite the fact Reagan won the Cold War and led to the greatest peacetime economic expansion in American history. Somehow, we&#8217;re supposed to believe a bunch of clowns riding the back seats of the House of Representatives, who have not actually accomplished anything in their entire political career, and have some really mean words about Ronald Reagan&#8217;s foreign policy.
Now, is this going to be a perfect bill? No. There&#8217;s going to be a bunch of crap in the bill you don&#8217;t like. There&#8217;s going to be a bunch of crap in the bill I don&#8217;t like. Is this bill perfect? No. Does it have a lot of problems? Yes. Is this bill necessary in order to preserve the strength of America&#8217;s allies? Yes.
That is why Johnson is right to move the bill forward. There’s also a politically important reason to do so: If you want Republicans to win a broader majority and actually make the serious kinds of cuts to government that are necessary, you need to win Congress by more than three votes. In order for that to happen, you have to win purple districts.
And the bill is relatively popular in purple districts, by every available polling metric.

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-JOHNSON

Why Mike Johnson Is Correct

Ben Shapiro

Federal Government

Opinion

Republicans

Social Security

Speaker of the House

Spending Bill

General Christopher Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command, warned this week that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russia&#8217;s</a> military has grown stronger and has recovered faster from its war in Ukraine than the U.S. thought was possible.
Cavoli, who is also the supreme allied commander of Europe at the Western security alliance NATO, made the remarks Wednesday during a House Armed Services hearing on National Security Challenges in Europe.
&#8220;With the help of the United States, and invaluable help from other allies and partners, Ukraine has inflicted significant damage upon the Russian military,&#8221; he said in his opening remarks. &#8220;However, Russia relies on the mass and quantity available to a large country, and despite its military’s evident deficiencies and dysfunctions, continues to pose an existential threat to Ukraine.&#8221;
Cavoli said that Russia has increased its production of long range precision munitions and has started to buy &#8220;ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and long-range drones from third countries who were previously outside this fight.&#8221;
&#8220;In fact, it is mainly only in the land forces that Russia has suffered, losing over 2,000 tanks and 315,000 soldiers wounded or dead,&#8221; he said. &#8220;However, Russia is reconstituting that force far faster than our initial estimates suggested. The army is actually now larger – by 15 percent – than it was when it invaded Ukraine. Over the past year, Russia increased its front line troop strength from 360,000 to 470,000. Russia’s army increased the upper age limit for conscription from 27 to 30, which increases the pool of available military conscripts by 2 million for years to come.&#8221;
He said that Russia is planning &#8220;an ambitious ground forces restructure&#8221; in which they want to drastically increase the size of their military and base many of the new forces &#8220;in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, as well as Karelia in the High North, opposite Finland.&#8221;
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&#8220;Perhaps most concerning, the Russian military in the past year has shown an accelerating ability to learn and adapt to battlefield challenges both tactically and technologically, and has become a learning organization that little resembles the chaotic force that invaded Ukraine two years ago,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;In sum, Russia is on track to command the largest military on the continent and a defense industrial complex capable of generating substantial amounts of ammunition and materiel in support of large scale combat operations,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine, Russia will be larger, more lethal, and angrier with the West than when it invaded. Diplomatically, Russia has used the past two years to attempt to alter the global security architecture by creating relationships that challenge the existing order.&#8221;
He added that Russia &#8220;shows no signs of stopping&#8221; and does not &#8220;intend to stop with Ukraine.&#8221;
WATCH:
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&quot;Russia shows no signs of stopping. And nor does Russia intend to stop with Ukraine. Russia presents a chronic threat.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/PVMV1AfRjX">pic.twitter.com/PVMV1AfRjX</a>
&mdash; U.S. European Command (@US_EUCOM) <a href="https://twitter.com/US_EUCOM/status/1778396567877079103?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Senate Armed Services April 11

Top U.S. General In Europe Issues Stark Warning About Russian Military

Global Politics

Russia

World

On Sunday, Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jd-vance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J.D. Vance (R-OH)</a> discouraged the GOP-led House from voting on a new foreign aid package if it lacks border security reforms.
With the House expected to consider foreign aid legislation in the coming days, Vance told Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo he does not want Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> (R-LA) to bend.
&#8220;I think Speaker Johnson is a good guy, but if he brings up a foreign aid package, sending billions of dollars to Ukraine, without doing anything on the southern border, it will be a disgrace and a massive betrayal, not just of Republican voters, but of the entire country,&#8221; Vance said on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures.&#8221;
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🚨WATCH: Senator <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JDVance1</a> RIPS latest GOP effort prioritizing Ukraine aid over border security
“I think Speaker Johnson is a good guy, but if he brings up a foreign aid package sending billions of dollars to Ukraine without doing anything on the border, it will be a disgrace.” <a href="https://t.co/yNIylx7X96">pic.twitter.com/yNIylx7X96</a>
&mdash; Senator Vance Press Office (@SenVancePress) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenVancePress/status/1777002243629207890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Democrat-led Senate passed in February a $95 billion foreign aid bill that would allocate further support for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in response to President Joe Biden&#8217;s national security supplemental request.
A bipartisan immigration deal had been tacked onto the legislation, but its provisions were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ted-cruz-says-democrats-got-political-camouflage-with-foreign-aid-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped</a> after a group of Republicans and leftist senators blocked the larger bill from advancing.
Vance was one of the Republican senators who opposed the immigration deal, <a href="https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-blasts-bullshit-ukraine-border-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claiming</a> it allowed the Biden administration to bypass enforcement mechanisms.
Johnson, who is working with a narrow Republican majority in the House, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/speaker-johnson-charts-path-forward-on-ukraine-aid-with-important-innovations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Fox News last weekend that lawmakers were &#8220;working to build a consensus&#8221;  on national security issues, beginning with U.S. border security.
The speaker said House members would be considering foreign aid upon returning to Washington, D.C., after the Easter recess along with &#8220;important innovations&#8221; such as the use of The REPO act, a loan to Ukraine, and more.
Vance said he hopes Johnson &#8220;really shows some steely resolve&#8221; and &#8220;pushes back against the craziness, and tells the Biden administration, you don&#8217;t get a dime for your foreign priorities until you do your job and secure the border.&#8221;
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As a longer-term solution, Vance argued, Republicans need to work on getting former President Donald Trump re-elected to the White House in the 2024 contest because of his hardline stances on border security and immigration.
Vance is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-all-propaganda-gop-senator-says-trumps-vp-pick-will-be-a-surprise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> one of the Republicans under Trump&#8217;s consideration as a potential running mate.
&#8220;We know that the Biden administration has thrown open the floodgates here. They have undone a lot of Trump-era immigration policy, and we have seen the effects,&#8221; Vance said.
&#8220;But I don&#8217;t want to let congressional Republicans off the hook here, because we actually do have leverage,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We just have to be willing to actually use it.&#8221;

Sen. J.D. Vance

J.D. Vance Says House Considering Foreign Aid Package Without Border Reforms Would Be A ‘Betrayal’

J.D. Vance Says House Considering Foreign Aid Package Without Border Reforms Would Be A 'Betrayal'

Border Crisis

Congress

JD Vance

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

White House Press Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a> appeared to short-circuit during Wednesday&#8217;s briefing, struggling to come up with an answer when pressed on President Joe Biden&#8217;s decision not to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as previously promised.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy prefaced his question with a reminder that Biden had promised to refill the SPR, claiming that he was only draining it to compensate for the spike in gas prices that he had blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
&#8220;First, the — so, you guys started draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try and help with ‘the Putin Price Hike’ a few years ago. Said you were going to refill it. But now it doesn&#8217;t seem like that&#8217;s happening. Why?&#8221; Doocy asked.
WATCH:
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DOOCY TIME: “First, the — so, you guys started draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try and help with ‘the Putin Price Hike’ a few years ago. Said You were going to refill it. But now it doesn&#39;t seem like that&#39;s happening. Why?”
KJP: “Well, from — I believe the Department… <a href="https://t.co/K5v77241lM">pic.twitter.com/K5v77241lM</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1775580441791103014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Jean-Pierre delivered a halting response, shifting responsibility to the Department of Energy and suggesting that the issue was not so much whether or not it would be refilled, but how that would eventually come about.
&#8220;Well, from — I believe the Department of Energy is — is responsible for — for that particular component — is refilling — refilling that, so I would refer to the Department of Energy. I know there are certain components to that and how they were going to move forward and refilling — refilling it. Uh — I — they would have had more specifics on that for you,&#8221; she said.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-nixes-plan-to-help-refill-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reports broke</a> earlier on Wednesday stating that the Biden administration would not be refilling the SPR as originally planned, citing the high cost of oil as a barrier to getting that done.
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The Department of Energy has canceled its latest tender for crude oil for the replenishment of the strategic petroleum reserve after oil prices moved higher than the DoE is comfortable with.
Last month, the DoE purchased 2.8 million barrels at a price of $81 per barrel, which… <a href="https://t.co/PDu7IwP7or">pic.twitter.com/PDu7IwP7or</a>
&mdash; Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) <a href="https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1775534236646211929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We will not award the current solicitations for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site and will solicit available capacity as market conditions allow,&#8221; the Department of Energy said. &#8220;We will continue to monitor market dynamics.&#8221;
Daniel Turner, founder and executive director for Power The Future, released a statement on the move, saying, &#8220;[President] Joe Biden drained the SPR for political reasons, cut our domestic production for his climate agenda, and now he’s leaving our critical reserve more vulnerable because he’s incompetent. As a result, Americans are paying more at the pump, more at the grocery store and our SPR is less full during a time of rising turmoil in the Middle East.&#8221;

White House Press Briefing Held By Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Karine Jean-Pierre Scrambles When Asked Why Biden Isn’t Moving Ahead With Plan To Refill Oil Reserves

Karine Jean-Pierre Scrambles When Asked Why Biden Isn't Moving Ahead With Plan To Refill Oil Reserves

Joe Biden

Karine Jean-Pierre

Oil and Gas

Peter Doocy

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Vladimir Putin

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> Minority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mitch-mcconnell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mitch McConnell</a> (R-KY) declared on Monday that he is focused on combating the &#8220;isolationist movement&#8221; of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/republican-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican Party</a> with his remaining time in office.
The comments, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/66-terry-meiners-28199905/episode/mitch-mcconnell-on-his-future-flipping-163919476/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made to WHAS radio host Terry Meiners</a>, signal that McConnell will be clashing with GOP colleagues who desire to rein in U.S. support for foreign allies such as Ukraine and Israel.
Although he plans to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mcconnell-to-step-down-as-senate-republican-leader" target="_blank" rel="noopener">step down</a> as party leader, McConnell stressed, &#8220;I&#8217;m not leaving the Senate.&#8221; He added, &#8220;I&#8217;m particularly involved in actually fighting back against the isolationist movement in my own party and so many others as well.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Q: “What’s your mindset now when your feet hit the floor in the morning?”
McConnell: &quot;I&#39;m not leaving the Senate. And I&#39;m particularly involved in fighting back against the isolationist movement in my own party. The symbol lately is ‘are we gonna help Ukraine or not.’” <a href="https://t.co/VHZprlxMGY">pic.twitter.com/VHZprlxMGY</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1774916043875492299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2024</a></blockquote>
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One conflict in particular that McConnell referenced was Ukraine&#8217;s fight against Russia, a cause to which the United States has allocated tens of billions of dollars.
&#8220;The symbol, lately, is &#8216;are we gonna help Ukraine or not?&#8217; And I think it&#8217;s extremely important that we do that,&#8221; McConnell said.
Polling <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/12/08/about-half-of-republicans-now-say-the-us-is-providing-too-much-aid-to-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> by the Pew Research Center in December showed an increasing number of Republicans —  approaching <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/12/08/about-half-of-republicans-now-say-the-us-is-providing-too-much-aid-to-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">half</a> of them — say the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine as the conflict approached its two-year mark.
That sentiment is showing in Congress. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-95-billion-foreign-aid-bill-despite-opposition-from-over-half-of-republican-senators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More than half</a> of Republicans in the Senate voted against the $95 billion foreign aid bill that would give roughly $60 billion to Ukraine. The legislation passed, but so far the GOP-controlled House has not taken it up for consideration.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated he is open to providing more foreign aid, but with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/speaker-johnson-charts-path-forward-on-ukraine-aid-with-important-innovations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;important innovations&#8221;</a> that can bring together the slim GOP majority in the House. For instance, he mentioned to Fox News a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsey-graham-meets-zelensky-says-he-floated-trumps-loan-idea-for-ukraine-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">loan</a> for Ukraine floated by former President Donald Trump.
Meiners noted that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has been criticizing McConnell and saying he is out of touch with the people in Kentucky. The host pressed McConnell on how to create unity.
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Paul &#8220;would be the first one to say that he’s an isolationist,&#8221; McConnell replied. &#8220;He has been all along. This is not anything new for him. And he and I have always disagreed on this kind of issue.&#8221;
McConnell said what is &#8220;more troublesome&#8221; is that others appear to be &#8220;heading in that direction, making arguments that I think are easily refuted.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;We’re not losing any of our troops, the Ukrainians are the ones doing the fighting. If the Russians take Ukraine, some NATO country would be next and then we will be right in the middle of it.&#8221;

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

McConnell Says He’s ‘Not Leaving The Senate,’ Aims To Fight ‘Isolationist Movement’ Within GOP

McConnell Says He’s ‘Not Leaving The Senate,' Aims To Fight ‘Isolationist Movement’ Within GOP

Mitch McConnell

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> will consider foreign aid legislation that would provide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-says-hes-confident-house-will-vote-on-ukraine-aid-after-easter-recess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more assistance to Ukraine</a> along with &#8220;important innovations&#8221; after the Easter recess, Speaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-johnson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Johnson</a> (R-LA) said on Sunday.
Johnson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmcBNTCF1ZQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News host Trey Gowdy that lawmakers have been &#8220;working to build a consensus&#8221; to address national security issues that he said begins with U.S. border security.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve been talking to all the members, especially now in the district work period. When we return after this work period, we&#8217;ll be moving a product,&#8221; Johnson said, suggesting there could be action as early as next week.
&#8220;It&#8217;s going to — I think — have some important innovations: <a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/rep/release/risch-whitehouse-applaud-committee-passage-of-repo-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The REPO Act</a>. If we can use the seized assets of Russian oligarchs to allow the Ukrainians to fight them, that&#8217;s just pure poetry,&#8221; he said.
Johnson also mentioned a &#8220;loan concept&#8221; that has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsey-graham-meets-zelensky-says-he-floated-trumps-loan-idea-for-ukraine-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floated</a> by former President Donald Trump as a way to continue aid to Ukraine.
&#8220;We&#8217;re not just giving foreign aid, we&#8217;re setting it up in a relationship where they can provide it back to us when the time is right,&#8221; Johnson said.
The speaker said lawmakers want to &#8220;release&#8221; American energy and have natural gas exports that will &#8220;help unfund&#8221; Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s war effort in Ukraine.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of things that we should do that make more sense and that I think we&#8217;ll have consensus around. We&#8217;re putting that product together and we&#8217;ll be moving it right after the district work period,&#8221; Johnson added.
In February, the Democrat-led Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-95-billion-foreign-aid-bill-despite-opposition-from-over-half-of-republican-senators" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a $95 billion foreign aid bill that would allocate money for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, responding to President Joe Biden&#8217;s national security supplemental request.
While the House has refused to consider the legislation, with Johnson insisting border security reforms must be part of the equation, some GOP members have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-says-hes-confident-house-will-vote-on-ukraine-aid-after-easter-recess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed for alternatives</a>.
During his conversation with Gowdy, Johnson also responded to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-files-motion-to-oust-mike-johnson-as-house-speaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">motion</a> from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to oust him as speaker after the House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-files-motion-to-oust-mike-johnson-as-house-speaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a $1.2 trillion spending bill.
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&#8220;I think all of my other Republican colleagues recognize this is a distraction from our mission &#8230; to save the Republic and the only way we can do that is if we grow the House majority, win the Senate, and win the White House,&#8221; he said.
Calling Greene a &#8220;friend,&#8221; Johnson said he shares her frustrations about government spending. He added that they have exchanged text messages and plan to talk soon.
&#8220;I want to talk with her about reforming the budgeting and spending process going forward. That&#8217;s what Republicans are for. That&#8217;s the transformational kind of changes that we can forge, if we all stand together,&#8221; he said.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

Speaker Johnson Charts Path Forward On Ukraine Aid With ‘Important Innovations’

Speaker Johnson Charts Path Forward On Ukraine Aid With 'Important Innovations'

Marjorie Taylor Greene

A Republican lawmaker said in an interview that aired on Sunday that he expects the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> to vote on aid for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> in the coming weeks.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told CNN that he spoke to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) &#8220;directly&#8221; when asked if they had discussed a vote on Ukraine aid.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to delve into the details of that conversation. But I am confident that he is going to bring a bill to the floor and that we will have a vote,&#8221; Lawler said.
Lawler said he believes there would be a vote when lawmakers return from the Easter recess.
&#8220;Certainly, this is critically important for our allies. We are the leader of the free world, and we cannot shirk on our responsibility to uphold and defend democracies across the globe,&#8221; he said.
In mid-February, the Democrat-led Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-passes-95-billion-foreign-aid-bill-despite-opposition-from-over-half-of-republican-senators">passed</a> a $95 billion foreign aid bill that would allocate money for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Johnson has refused to have the House consider the legislation, suggesting that U.S. border security policy changes must be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-open-to-meeting-with-speaker-johnson-on-foreign-aid">part of the equation</a>.
Some House Republicans are pushing for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republican-unveils-plan-to-force-consideration-of-bill-linking-border-security-to-foreign-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a different bill</a> that includes &#8220;defense-only&#8221; funds to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan while also providing authorities meant to secure the southern border.
Lawler noted that he signed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-republican-unveils-plan-to-force-consideration-of-bill-linking-border-security-to-foreign-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discharge petition</a> meant to force a vote on that legislation, which is estimated to cost roughly $66 billion.
&#8220;But I am hopeful that the speaker will put the bill on the floor or an amended version of the bill on the floor, so that we can once and for all ensure that our allies have the aid and support that they need,&#8221; he said.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced last week that he briefed Johnson on Ukraine&#8217;s fight against Russia, which has lasted more than two years and to which the U.S. has already dedicated tens of billions of dollars.
&#8220;In this situation, quick passage of US aid to Ukraine by Congress is vital. We recognize that there are differing views in the House of Representatives on how to proceed, but the key is to keep the issue of aid to Ukraine as a unifying factor,&#8221; Zelensky <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1773385494941839632" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X.
&#8220;We also discussed the importance of cutting off Russia&#8217;s sources of funding for its war as soon as possible and using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit. We also rely on the leadership of Congress in this regard,&#8221; he added.

Rep. Mike Lawler

Republican Says He’s ‘Confident’ House Will Vote On Ukraine Aid After Easter Recess

Republican Says He's 'Confident' House Will Vote On Ukraine Aid After Easter Recess

House Republicans

Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, boasts that 700,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia “for their safety.” Among Russia’s War Crimes, kidnapping Ukraine’s children may be the cruelest. Sadly, it exists on a horrific scale.
The anguish of these children’s families is hard to imagine, but what about the experience of the children who were actually kidnapped? Only a few have been rescued, but here’s the experience of two Ukrainian children who were victims of this crime.
Sergiy Koldin was 11 and his sister Ksenia 17 when they were kidnapped and sent to Russia two years ago. The Russians separated the children, and they ended up 900 miles apart. As Ksenia explained in a recent in person interview, the two didn’t see each other for nine months. “It was the worst nine months of my life,” she said.
During her time in captivity, the Russians allowed Ksenia to continue her studies, but there was a constant diet of brainwashing. For example, they tried to convince her that Russia had to invade Ukraine. The reason? They told her Ukraine had been on the brink of invading Russia and Russia had to defend itself.
In Ksenia’s case, the brainwashing didn’t take. She’d sit in a class in her school room, telling herself, “Ukraine is going to win!” And then she’d repeat silently the phrase in her own language that countless Ukrainians still use, “Slava Ukraini!” It means, “Glory to Ukraine!” Her attitude was that her captors could say whatever they wanted, it wasn’t going to change her mind about them or about Ukraine.
Ksenia was fortunate because nine months into her ordeal, she learned of a secret hot line to Save Ukraine. This organization is dedicated to rescuing Ukrainian children from Russian captivity. It’s a modern-day version of the Underground Railroad that before the American Civil War helped slaves escape from their Southern masters.
The people she talked with on the hot line gave her the joyous news that they could help her escape. “But I can’t leave,” she told them. “I don’t want to go without my little brother!” Since her brother was 900 miles away, this was a problem.
Mykola Kuleba from Save Ukraine, takes up Ksenia’s story. “We were able to find little Sergiy,” Mykola begins. “but the immediate problem was, Sergiy didn’t want to come back.”
“I need to stay here!” Sergiy told Kuleba. As Kuleba learned his Russian captors had convinced him that Ukraine was full of Nazis who wanted to kill him.
Kuleba had heard this story or one similar to it many times. “The Russian strategy is to brainwash the abducted children and to teach them to hate Ukraine. They’re taught to sing Russian patriotic songs, to idolize Putin, and that the evil Ukrainians will rape and kill any girls or boys who try to return to Ukraine.”
Eventually, between Kuleba and Ksenia, Sergiy decided he wanted to return to his homeland. Using means that can’t be disclosed, the two children were repatriated to Ukraine.
However, the psychological trauma they had endured plus the indoctrination meant that returning them to their homes wasn’t enough. “Our mission,” explains Kuleba, “is not only to find these kids and return them to their homeland, but also to provide support for the various mental health problems they’re enduring after the trauma of being ripped from their families and their homeland.”
Ksenia is now 19 and still recovering from that ordeal. However, she’s more than willing to talk about it with this reporter. She wants others to know what the Russians did to her and her brother.
Ksenia and her brother are safe now, but what about the almost countless other children who have been abducted, and who are today being taught to hate and fear their homeland? And what about their grieving parents?
As time passes, the hundreds of thousands of abducted Ukrainian children will forget that they are Ukrainian. The will be taught to hate their homeland. They may even end up in the Russian army, conscripted to fight against the people who gave them birth.
Ukraine needs to win this war and be freed from this kind of oppression. It’s possibly the cruelest that can be imagined.
* * *
<a href="https://mitziperdue.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mitzi Perdue</a> is a businesswoman, author, anti-human trafficking advocate, and journalist reporting from and about Ukraine. She has visited multiple times, has many local contacts, and has published more than 95 articles. She holds a bachelor of arts degree, with honors, from Harvard University and a master&#8217;s degree from George Washington University.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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