House Republican right-wingers on Tuesday blocked advancement of an $826 billion defense spending bill that GOP leadership had loaded up with conservative goodies, such as limiting abortion access and medical treatment for transgender troops.
Democrats voted against advancing the Pentagon bill due to its religious right-friendly add-ons, and a handful of Republicans joined them, dealing a blow to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy also promptly pulled a stopgap funding bill meant to avert a government shutdown from consideration, drawing the country ever closer to a shutdown less than a dozen days from now.
The GOP leadership's failed procedural vote on the defense bill erupted in a round of finger-pointing among Republicans, according to Politico. Rep. Mike Garcia of California, a vet and supporter of the bill, accused any lawmaker who cast a vote against advancing the defense bill of "appeasing China.”
“China does not need more appeasers within the beltway of the United States capital. We need fewer,” Garcia told reporters. “We need to fight China. The DOD bill does that.”
But China isn't our country’s only geopolitical enemy laughing about the Putin wing of the Republican Party subverting U.S. national security. Russian President Vladimir Putin is having a gas as congressional Republicans put $24 billion in aide to Ukraine in jeopardy.
The icing on the cake for Putin is Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama continuing his six-month-plus blockade of military promotions over the Defense Department's policy of ensuring service members can access abortion care.
As a newly released VoteVets ad says, "Dangerous dictators look on with glee as Tuberville does their work for them.”
Whether Republicans are killing a defense spending bill, blocking military promotions, or threatening aid to Ukraine, they are doing Putin’s bidding to the great detriment of U.S. national security and the global fight for democracy.
Tell Tommy Tuberville: Stop endangering national security
Kerry talks with Drew Linzer, director of the online polling company Civiqs. Drew tells us what the polls say about voters’ feelings toward President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and what the results would be if the two men were to, say … run against each other for president in 2024. Oh yeah, Drew polled to find out who thinks Donald Trump is guilty of the crimes he’s been indicted for, and whether or not he should see the inside of a jail cell.