In its latest act of placing American interests last, the U.S. Senate passed legislation on Tuesday to ship $95 billion more in U.S. taxpayer money to foreign nations such as Ukraine.
In a 70-29 vote, the foreign supplemental approved by the upper chamber authorizes funds for (mostly) Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan but did not include provisions addressing the ongoing invasion at the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill — which was introduced days after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s back-door border boondoggle collapsed — received the backing of 22 Senate Republicans, whose support pushed it over the finish line.
As if placing the needs of foreign nations above their constituents’ wasn’t bad enough, several Republicans who supported the measure publicly talked down to voters concerned about America’s open border and other major domestic issues. As The Federalist’s Tristan Justice reported, McConnell said those who oppose continued funding of America’s proxy war with Russia hold “the dimmest and most shortsighted views of our obligations.”
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis insulted voters’ intelligence by stating, “Our base cannot possibly know what’s at stake at the level that any well-briefed U.S. senator should know about what’s at stake if Putin wins.” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney put the cherry on top by telling his colleagues Tuesday’s vote is “most important vote we will ever take as United States senators.”
While these and more Republicans were more than willing to ship even more of their constituents’ tax dollars overseas while the United States is deep in unsustainable debt and spending, several Senate GOPers put American interests first instead.
Mike Lee of Utah
One of the more outspoken senators against shipping more U.S. funding to Ukraine, Lee filibustered for four hours on the Senate floor on Saturday, arguing against the measure. Utah’s senior senator once again took to the chamber floor on Monday night encouraging his Republican colleagues to prioritize their constituents’ needs over those of foreign nations.
“Those who vote ‘yes’ undermine what senators are elected to do, first and foremost: which is to represent our states,” Lee said. “Every senator has the chance … to vote ‘no’ on this bill, and by so doing, vote in support of governors, schools, hospitals, churches, playgrounds, clean streets, and safe neighborhoods, by voting against more funding for Ukraine.”
Rand Paul of Kentucky
The Kentucky senator highlighted that bill titles often mislead about a bill’s contents, and opined that the $95 billion supplemental should be titled, “Ukraine First, America Last.”
“If this bill had an image or a cover on the front of the bill, the image would the migrant in New York who assaulted a police officer, was freed from jail on no bail, and gave the middle finger of both hands to America,” Paul said. “That’s what this bill is. It’s the middle finger to America.”
Tommy Tuberville of Alabama
Tuberville affirmed that America “should not give another dime to Ukraine until we secure our border for our citizens” and called out his GOP colleagues for neglecting the foreign invasion of the United States.
“In December, all of 49 Republicans voted to defeat similar legislation—because it did nothing for our southern border. Senate Republicans were unanimous,” Tuberville said. “We had a consensus in the Republican Conference that we should not give more money to other countries until we secure our southern border. … My position has not changed since December. The 17 Republicans who voted to take up this legislation can explain their change of heart themselves.”
Eric Schmitt of Missouri
Schmitt underscored how disconnected Democrats and the GOP establishment are from everyday Americans, saying: “The working folks back home that feel left behind by this town [Washington, D.C.]” are exhausted by Congress’s “ridiculous priorities and being 34 trillion dollars in debt and shipping jobs overseas.”
Josh Hawley of Missouri
Similar to his fellow Missouri senator, Hawley lambasted Congress for bankrolling Ukraine’s corrupt government and ignoring the urgent needs of Americans.
“I have listened carefully — carefully — to colleague after colleague of mine come to this floor and stand where I am now and say, ‘It’s so important that we spend this money on these overseas wars. We must spend the money. If we don’t spend this money now, why, it may cost us more money in the future. No, it’s imperative,’” Hawley said. “Meanwhile, these same people turn to the citizens of Missouri and say, ‘You’re not worth a dime.’”
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
Prior to the Senate’s passage of the $95 billion foreign subsidy package, Johnson said President Biden and Congress’s No. 1 priority should be securing America’s borders, not those of foreign powers.
“As much as you may be sympathetic with the people of Ukraine … we need to first secure our own border,” Johnson said.
Ted Budd of North Carolina
Budd blasted Democrats’ open border policies and said America must “secure [its] own border before [it] can help other countries protect theirs” in order to remain a leading power.
Roger Marshall of Kansas
Marshall called out Democrats’ insincerity in negotiating a foreign invader amnesty bill, calling the maneuver a “charade.”
The White House was “never serious about it,” Marshall said. “Why would we have to beg the president of the United States to secure our own border? … Why would we have to give [Democrats] Ukraine funding in return for a secure border? It makes sense to nobody.”
Marco Rubio of Florida
The Florida senator explained his opposition to the bill by saying his constituents are “tired of being put in second place.” This bill “violates our most important responsibility, and that is to give voice to the people of this country,” Rubio said.
Rick Scott of Florida
Scott used his Senate floor time to highlight President Biden’s failure in rescuing Americans being held captive by Hamas, saying: “I can’t imagine why the president of the United States isn’t speaking every single day about Americans … being held hostage by Hamas terrorists and what he is doing to get them out.”
J.D. Vance of Ohio
Vance underscored the seriousness of the U.S. border invasion, particularly the prevalence of fentanyl in American communities.
“We’re being invaded by up to 10 million illegal migrants over the course of Joe Biden’s term in office, and we have apparently no president with the willpower to stop that problem,” he said. “We have a fentanyl crisis that has led to the deaths of over 100,000 people per year in the last few years of our youngest and brightest people.”
Honorable Mentions
Other GOP senators to vote against the $95 billion foreign aid supplemental include John Barrasso of Wyoming, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Mike Braun of Indiana, Katie Britt of Alabama, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Steve Daines of Montana, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott of South Carolina, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, and James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming did not vote on the measure.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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