A massive majority in the House has rejected a proposed amendment sponsored by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that would have blocked what official recaps summarized as “security assistance” for Ukraine amid that country’s ongoing defense against an expansive Russian invasion. A full 339 members voted in opposition, while only 93 were in favor. The House, as a reminder, has 435 seats in total.
Republicans in Gaetz’s corner of his party have made opposition to assistance for Ukraine a key part of their agenda around national security and military issues. The support from the U.S. and other countries has largely been in the form of weapons deliveries, though humanitarian help has also been provided. No U.S. troops have joined the conflict on the ground, and there’s no indication that such will ever change for the duration of this war. Many have argued that the U.S. has essentially a vested interest in Russia’s defeat amid its war against Ukraine, considering the antagonism so consistently shown by the larger country’s leadership. Many have also pointed to a clear-cut moral imperative driving the help Ukrainians have received.
Though some on the far-right have tried to blame weapons support for essentially pointlessly prolonging the war, it’s easier to argue that helping Ukraine be able to more effectively defend itself has stemmed some threats against the country’s civilians. Though the idea of Ukraine just ceding land to Russia comes up in far-right imaginings of how the war could end, Russian troops have already shown the atrocities that follow Putin’s forces taking control, so that’s what Ukraine and the world could expect — and the reality of what far-right figures demanding concessions are trying to push.
All 93 of the votes in favor of Gaetz’s proposal were from Republicans. The proposal was in the form of an amendment to the funding bill for the Department of Defense for the upcoming fiscal year.
