Members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies are drawing a line in the sand ahead of a fierce battle among Republicans over additional aid to Ukraine.
Three sources told Fox News Digital that the House is scheduled to take up the issue of Ukraine and additional foreign aid next week.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-Va.) called for funding for Ukraine to be balanced by spending cuts in other countries and combined with changes to U.S. border policy.
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House Republicans, including Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-Va., left) and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga., right), called for additional support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. asserts a position on. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | Maxim Marcenko/NurPhoto, via Getty Images | Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“We can’t continue to borrow and spend money we don’t have on wars overseas without being able to protect Americans from Biden’s border invasion at home,” Goode told Fox News Digital earlier this week. ” he said. “At a minimum, any military aid package to Ukraine must be fully offset and include HR2 with performance indicators to protect our country’s borders.”
This position has since been echoed by other right-wing House Republicans. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) told Fox News Digital on Friday that “deadly military aid to Ukraine that doesn’t meet these critical requirements is a complete non-starter.”
“House Republicans were tasked with getting our country back on track, starting with cutting spending and securing our southern border,” Clyde explained. “Abandoning these priorities and pursuing costly policies to secure Ukraine’s borders would be a complete betrayal of the American people.”
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And former Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) told Fox News Digital, “We support Ukraine. But our priority has to be America…Our debt… “That’s $35 trillion next month. Any foreign aid package needs to be scrutinized.” ”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said he wants to address the Ukraine aid once the House returns from recess. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., similarly said on Morning with Maria this week: “Without offsets, without concessions to pay for this cost, more borrowing is not the answer. And that’s the answer.”where [Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.] In order to extract concessions, he will need to step up and use his influence as a speaker. ”
And while the two concessions Mr. Good outlined are unlikely to sway the most hardline critics into supporting Ukraine aid, they do so because they have set up a number of significant hurdles and are unlikely to sway Johnson’s efforts to pass. It suggests there is no possibility of him threatening the Prime Minister’s gavel.
Freedom Caucus members and their allies have in the past asked House leadership to consider bills under a suspension of rules in exchange for raising the threshold for passage to two-thirds rather than a simple majority. have been forced to circumvent normal procedural hurdles.
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The issue is driving a wedge within the House Republican conference, with a growing number of Republicans skeptical of continued U.S. aid to Ukraine as it continues to fight Russian aggression.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a number of proposals this week that appear to be aimed at allaying concerns on the right wing of the conference. He has signaled support for Ukraine in the form of loans, a plan that former President Donald Trump said was supported, and also asked the Biden administration to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. It also suggests that reversing the moratorium would weaken Russia’s energy-driven economy. I allow it.
South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman also called for an offset to Ukraine aid.
Johnson is also considering raising some of the money by liquefying seized Russian assets, a bipartisan plan introduced in the House and Senate last year.
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However, these proposals received a lukewarm response at best from those skeptical of Ukraine’s funding.
“Conservatives don’t think border security is enough without border security,” one senior House Republican aide told Fox News Digital.
“There’s talk of ‘loaning’ money and equipment to Ukraine,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told X earlier this week. “Okay, why not lend aid to Israel and Taiwan as well? Because they actually have the money.” It’s a farce because it means paying off a debt.”
