57 House Republicans vote against Ukraine aid package

Nearly five dozen House Republicans voted against a $40 billion aid package to help Ukrainians fight off the Russian invasion of their country.

The aid package 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 more than 2,400 civilian deaths and thousands more injuries, according to the United Nations.

The bill includes both military funding to help Ukrainians fight back against Russia and humanitarian aid to help the struggling residents in the war-torn country.

The 57 Republicans voted against the aid package as Democrats and Republicans alike described the funding as a vote against Putin, who experts say is trying 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) told Politico.

The Republican no votes came from some of former President Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in the House, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Jim Jordan of Ohio.

In February, at the start of Putin’s invasion, Trump praised Putin as “smart,” saying that the Russian president’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 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% of Americans say the United States should give more military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including a majority of people who voted for Trump.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.