Ken Buck becomes first Republican to sign Democrats’ discharge petition for Ukraine aid

On Thursday, the day before he retires, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado became the first Republican to sign House Democrats’ brief on aid withdrawal.

The expulsion petition, which House Democrats formally filed earlier this month, is an attempt to force consideration of a $95 million foreign aid package passed by the Senate that included $60 billion in aid to Ukraine.

The petition, sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), had as many as 188 signatures as of Thursday. Records of the house clerk. 218 signatures are required for mandatory deliberation.

Democrats say the discharge petition is the most efficient way to pass aid to war-torn Ukraine, where funding for the country is stalled in a divided Congress.

The Senate’s foreign aid bill passed 70-29 last month, with 22 Republicans voting to support it. When sent to the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) refused to consider it, citing the lack of stricter U.S.-Mexico border provisions.

If the petition receives enough votes, Democrats could bypass Mr. Johnson’s opposition to the Senate package and bring it to the floor, where they expect it to pass with a majority of more than 300 votes.

Mr. Buck also signed a competing expulsion letter for Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania). petition, but already included Republican signatures. The petition forces a vote on broader Ukraine policy and includes border provisions demanded by House Republicans.that A total of 16 people signed the petition. As of Thursday.

Mr. Buck will retire on Friday, but his name will remain The petition will continue until a successor is elected. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said last week that a special election to fill his seat would likely be held to coincide with the state’s June 25 primary. If his successor also signs the petition, Buck’s name will be removed.

The move is a major blow to Johnson and other Republicans who have insisted on securing border security measures as a condition for additional aid to Ukraine.

The incident comes just days after the Colorado Republican was expelled from the conservative House Freedom Caucus. One Freedom Caucus member told The Hill that the group removed him because he was not in “good standing” as a member and had not regularly attended group meetings “in recent months.” Told.

Mr. Buck, 65, has frequently clashed with Republicans on a variety of issues in recent years. When he announced his retirement from Congress last fall, he pointed to the Republican Party’s election denialism and belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

A Freedom Caucus member, who requested anonymity to discuss the group’s internal procedures, said Buck was expelled from the group for “not working with conservatives on several key issues.”

They also pointed to Buck’s impending retirement, which they said would result in a “historically close decision.”

His resignation schedule was brought forward earlier this month when he announced he would leave Congress on Friday, rather than at the end of his term as originally announced last fall. His resignation will reduce the Republican majority in the House by one seat, leaving the House with 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who is running for Buck’s seat in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, slammed Buck’s expulsion petition.

“In one of his last acts as a member of Congress, Ken Buck signed the Democratic Party’s expulsion petition to give even more money to Ukraine!” boebert wrote about x, formerly Twitter. “The strange thing is that even though I have been traveling all the way through the 4th district, I have not yet seen the border with Kiev. Of course.”

“I have another copy of ‘Drain The Swamp’. It will be a good read for him!” she added. “Then again…he’s gone so far that he seems to have forgotten who he really is.”