Republicans have been quick to join with Democrats in condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a state prison. Luckily for them, there’s something they can actually do about it: Help Ukraine fight him.
“Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator,” GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina tweeted. “History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. Nor will history be kind to America’s leaders who stay silent because they fear backlash from online pundits.”
Rep. Mike McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement: “If confirmed, the death of Alexei Navalny is a tragedy ... He is a voice for a better Russia amid the corruption and brutality of Putin’s genocidal regime. The Kremlin must be held accountable for this outrage.”
But so far it’s only Democrats who are talking about actually opposing Putin through assistance to Ukraine in fighting off his invasion. They’re pointing out that Republicans are doing Putin’s dirty work. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was characteristically blunt: “House members blocking critical aid to Ukraine can revel in another high-five for Putin who just murdered his most vocal and visible critic.”
“The death of @navalny is tragic. It underscores the brutal authoritarian rule of Putin and what’s at stake as the Speaker of the House refuses to put the Ukraine funding package on the floor bending to extremist House members and Donald Trump,” Massachusetts Rep. Bill Keating tweeted.
They’re absolutely right, and it’s people like McCaul—a powerful committee chairman—who need to step up. A handful of non-MAGA Republicans in the House have worked with a few Democrats to craft a bipartisan bill introduced on Wednesday to try to break the hardliners’ hold on assistance to Ukraine. The bill also includes military aid for Israel and Taiwan. It would provide just military aid—no humanitarian or economic assistance.
If Republicans like McCaul actually want to fight Putin, working with Democrats on an alternative measure like this one might be the best option. As of now, there’s little appetite among these Putin-haters to step up and help Democrats with a discharge petition to bring the aid bill to the floor. That means they’ll also have to stand up to the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said Thursday, “I’ll assure you: Ukraine aid is not coming to the floor.”
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