Clyburn gives GOP a new nickname: ‘Groupies of Putin’

House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn (D.C.) went after Republicans on Saturday, giving them a new nickname: “Putin’s Group.”

Clyburn, who announced he would step down from leadership in 2024, said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and other Republican colleagues were working for Russian President Vladimir Putin “at the behest of the former president.” He insisted that there was only one.

“I think the American public is starting to realize that Johnson is part of what I call ‘Putin’s group,'” Clyburn said. Said Saturday’s MSNBC “The Weekend.” “That’s the current abbreviation for the Republican Party: ‘Putin’s Group.'”

“The American people will see through it,” he added. “And we as Democrats are going to do everything we can to make sure that’s front and center.”

His comments come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson refuses to introduce an additional $60 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine to the House of Commons, which was passed by the House of Lords as Russia marks two years since it launched a full-scale invasion. It was served inside. House Republicans have argued that any foreign aid spending bill must be combined with money to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, an argument publicly supported by former President Trump.

“[In] “Unless we receive any changes to border policy from the Senate, the House of Commons will have to continue to take charge of these important issues on its own,” Johnson said in a statement. “America deserves better than what’s going on in the Senate.”

Senate Republicans earlier this month blocked the first attempt at a bipartisan package that included foreign aid and border security provisions. That prompted Senate Democrats to unveil another funding bill that would provide aid to Ukraine and Israel in their currently stalled war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

A bipartisan effort was made in the House last week, but the bill has not yet passed.

During a visit to Ukraine this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) urged the Speaker to take action as tensions between the United States and Russia escalate, most notably in the wake of the death of the Senate president. A new appeal was made to raise the issue. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

President Biden on Friday announced more than 500 new sanctions targeting Russia, blaming Putin for Navalny’s death.

“We will continue to do so unless President Putin pays the price for his death and destruction,” Biden said in a statement.

The House is also wrangling over the possibility of another government shutdown on March 2 if the budget is not passed. Clyburn said he did not expect a government shutdown, but said there was pressure on Johnson to accept a plan that had support from both sides.

“You can’t get inside the chairman’s head,” he said.