Senate Advances Bloated $40 Billion Ukraine Spending Package

This past Monday, the Senate has taken strides to shove through a massive $40 billion aid package for Ukraine that sported above-average support from both sides of the aisle for it to move forward.

A final vote on this aid package is slated to be held on Wednesday or Thursday and is expected to put the stamp of approval on the package as it currently sports the support of both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Monday’s vote was just a procedural step to move forward the debate on the bill and easily made it through with a vote of 81-11.

The advancement of the bill comes just after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blocked it from getting a vote of unanimous consent last week, making the argument that government spending was spiraling out of control and that was going to lead to severely harmful consequences for the American economy.

“His obstruction will not prevent Ukraine aid from ultimately passing the Senate,” stated Schumer on Monday, as reported by Bloomberg. “One way or another we are going to get this done and send a clear message to Ukraine and the world that America stands on the side of democracy and against Putin’s deeply immoral campaign of violence.”

The group of 10 Republicans that stood with Paul in voting against the advancement of the package included: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (TN), Sen. John Boozman (AR), Sen. Mike Braun (IN), Sen. Mike Crapo (ID), Sen. Bill Hagerty (TN), Sen. Josh Hawley (MO), Sen. Mike Lee (UT), Sen. Cynthia Lummis (WY), Sen. Roger Marshall (KS), and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (AL).

A group of eight senators, including Republicans Richard Burr (NC) and Pat Toomey (PA), made the choice to abstain from voting. Thirty-seven Republicans chose to vote for the advancement of the bill.

McConnell, in the wake of a visit to Ukraine this past weekend, Suggested that Paul and the others who stood in opposition of the bill were isolationists.

“There have always been isolationist voices in the Republican Party,” he stated. “I think one of the lessons we learned in World War II is not standing up to aggression early is a huge mistake.”

On Monday, Hawley stated that he was still opposed to the bill because it was not in the best interest of America.

“Spending $40 billion on Ukraine aid – more than three times what all of Europe has spent combined – is not in America’s interests. It neglects priorities at home (the border), allows Europe to freeload, short changes critical interests abroad and comes w/ no meaningful oversight,” he said in a tweet. “That’s not isolationism. That’s nationalism. It’s about prioritizing American security and American interests.”

As stated in an interview on Fox News, Hagerty agreed with Hawley by saying that it was high time for Washington to turn back its focus to more domestic issues.

“We’re not taking care of our own country,” he stated on Sunday. “The best thing [the] Biden administration could do is stop the war that he’s waged on American industry. That would lower prices overall. That would take the funding away from Putin’s war machine against Ukraine and make our economy better here.”

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