Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said that arming Ukraine was the “number one priority” for most Republicans as Congress unveiled a massive $1.7 trillion funding bill that includes new spending for the war.
McConnell said at a press conference that the military expenditures included in the bill are “making sure the Defense Department can deal with the major threats coming from Russia and China, providing assistance for the Ukrainians to defeat the Russians.”
“That’s the number one priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans,” McConnell added. The omnibus bill includes $858 billion for the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act and another $45 billion for Ukraine aid, bringing total US spending on the war to about $112 billion.
While some other Senate Republicans said they weren’t happy with the massive $1.7 trillion bill, they signaled they wouldn’t block the legislation, which needs to pass by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. For his part, McConnell heaped praise on the bill.
“So admittedly, I’m pretty proud of the fact that with a Democratic president, a Democratic House and Democratic Senate, we were able to achieve through this omnibus spending bill essentially all of our priorities,” McConnell said.
With Republicans set to take over the House in January, there has been some concern from Democrats that it might be harder to pass future Ukraine aid. While there are growing calls for oversight, the vast majority of Republicans support arming Ukraine, and Republican leadership has criticized the Biden administration for not sending Kyiv longer-range weapons.
Russia attack on Ukraine, not only united NATO countries, but it is giving the Democrats and Republicans a common ground to work together. Putin underestimated how Americans would react to his aggression.
The Democratic and Republican parties are political parties, Americans are citizens of America. They’re not the same. They do not share the same interests. The duopoly serves the elites. The individuals who do the money-making part in wars for example. They are parasitic on the American people. These are the sort of people who generate the wealth and can be counted on or at least manipulated into fulfilling the dying and murdering role in wars. The last ones are much more numerous, but don’t have a say in what the former decides for them. They never did, they don’t and they won’t. The point of having parties in a democracy is to create the illusion and maintain the belief that they do. This is usually achieved by performing a ritual that mimicks political participation with a minimal level of periodicity.
Well said! 🙂
OK you don’t like the American political system. I get that. But you have to admit, Putin did not plan for strong response from American. He assumed that US was to divided to react.
Our state-run media uses the propaganda expertly.
state-run media??? Fox, CNN, ABC,, NBC, CBS and MSN are all run by the government? Well that “news” to me.
You have absolutely no idea what Putin thought and you prove it every day.
Yea I do. Because either Putin underestimated the West response or he is just plain stupid. Which one do you think he is?
I think Putin underestimated the response.
I also assume that Putin has, at all times, been under a certain amount of pressure from hardliners in the Russian regime to “go bigger” every time an obstacle presents itself, rather than retrench.
But I think the retrenching will occur nonetheless, because there’s a point at which actual pressure from the hardliners gets outweighed by potential pressure from the Russian public. Every escalation in mobillization, every privation due to war materiel demands, etc., increases that potential pressure, and at some point there’s a “Yeltsin’s standing on a tank and the army won’t fire on the people” moment on the horizon.
It’s almost heart warming Mr. Harper!…. I should also like to politely point out that this is an antiwar website, or so I am told……………………………………………………………………………….
Do you make the same statement to the pro Russian supporters who are supporting the war on Ukraine citizens?
You lie about this every day, Harper. Every single day. You’re not here to discuss anything of substance or history. By your own admission, you support the war. We for the most part do not, for the simple reason that we can see paths to a just settlement that ends this insane exercise in brinksmanship. Unfortunately for us, this government has chosen indefinite war in order to destroy the Russian state because they are in a rush to start new wars with the Iranians and Chinese.
I had enough time to be exposed to a number of US proxy wars during my lifetime. I’m as disinterested in seeing this one continued as I was with all the other bellicose adventures the idiots who run this country have hatched.
I happen to love this land, but I despise what has come to be the rot that infests Washington DC.
And you are here to discuss things of substance? Most of your comments are junior high level insults on Biden.
Democratic and republican politicians are united. Most everyone else tries to tune it out. Some of the MSM stories are one-sided enough against Russia and Russians that they remind people of Iraqi WMDs, Yellowcake, and Iraqi soldiers spearing babies with bayonetts. Emotionally charged stories that were widely reported that were complete fabrications.
You can believe that if you want to, but the bottom line is that US has and will continue to send significant amount aid to Ukraine.
Yep. We have been and will continue to do that. If anything, amounts will increase.
Didn’t we do that in Vietnam, too?
And Afghanistan and Iraq. Didn’t turn out too well for the US.
Well after we installed the Regime in Ukraine, we could still make it not our business.
One minute, you are funding the war (exuberantly) and the next you are ducking for cover…!!!
These obscene amounts of war money should crash the kingdom’s economy, oh but wait, there’s always profits in war, right?! When we are staring back at Russia, it will be interesting to see the stunned faces on our side…
Will I be “unpatriotic” if I drink Black Russians during the war?…
Don’t do it. Word will get out.
Hey, as long as you don’t eat any Black Russians during the war.
Mitchell is the worst, leading from behind, smarming on Fox, such an advertisement for term limits: Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said that arming Ukraine was the “number one priority” for most Republicans as Congress unveiled a massive $1.7 trillion funding bill. And so-called Independent, Bernie Sanders, bowed without a squeak to the Administration frowning at stopping funding for Saudi air support that bombs Yemen. (Although of course Biden said he would stop this egregious aid when campaigning for Office. But what’s a campaign promise worth? the vapor on which its drifts away?) Our national leaders are cemented into the political infrastructure, disbelieve anything but the tapes running in their own brains, cycling, cycling, cycling.
My meltdown is over for today….
I did not melt down over this. It was completely expected.
Biden and McConnell, over the past month, have made it clear that opposition from either democrats ot republicans is not to be tolerated.
“This is your rifle, this is your gun, this is for fighting and this is for fun…!” Congress can kiss my a–…
I hadn’t heard that since I was in basic training.
1.7 Trillions Dollars???!!! 45 Billion Bucks for Ukraine?……………
You Muthafookers!
We, the American People, have no desire to pay for your damn wars!
Just remember, Di–Heads, the more wars we have, the greater the chance we will use the most devastating weapons of all:
DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS, COMBINED WITH OUR NUKES, WILL GIVE THE UNIVERSE A PRETTY BIG Bloody SHOW!
P.S. what if I am part Ukrainian on my great grandmother’s side, can I get a handful of coins? Nah, that doesn’t work but I am part Comanche on my dad’s side…
McConnell means its a No. 1 priority for his donors in the MIC
War with Russia and China, oh happy day! WORLD WAR THREE will be spectacular, right down to the very last minute or perhaps even second…
We are tempting the fates……………………………………………………………….
Donna, I think the USA and the DC Ghouls are deserving of whatever is coming our way!!
Ah Come on Jay! Stop being so logical! 😉
What a POS…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ddc719608d539be15986c0278a875897c5ab6ac66eea0346e47c4468532a9cab.jpg
Damn good idea!
“Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans” … of course the real priority for McConnel and his buddies is care and feeding of MICIMATT, which the Ukraine caper is perfectly designed for.
McConnell said at a press conference that the military expenditures included in the bill are “making sure the Defense Department can deal with the major threats coming from Russia and China, providing assistance for the Ukrainians to defeat the Russians.”
Except we are providing assistance to prolong the war, not to defeat the Russians.
“Except we are providing assistance to prolong the war, not to defeat the Russians” There is truth to that. The US needs to ignore the constant threats by Russia and give the Ukrainians the weapons that they need. For example, we should be training Ukrainian pilots right now on how to fly US made aircraft.
Correction. Threats by u.s. led n.a.t.o. Go khaki up trash talker!
One interesting question is whether the US/EU/NATO regimes would have provided anywhere near as much aid to Ukraine as they have, if Putin had not announced in advance a goal of regime change (“de-Nazification and demilitarization”) in Ukraine.
If his announced objective had merely been securing LPR/DPR and a land corridor to Crimea, the US/EU/NATO regimes might have thought they wouldn’t be able to get enough assistance, quickly enough, into the theatre of operations to change the outcome and just let it happen while complaining loudly.
I’m fairly sure that they would have gone much beyond just complaining – as in very tough sanctions – their problem partially being that they would not be able to return the refugees to a obviously unsafe Ukraine.
Perhaps more importantly they would have seen this as only the first part (Sudetenland anyone) and been very aware of the inability of the rump Ukraine to survive in its amputated state – so very little desire for a failed state on their border.
Last but not least they would have felt a need to strengthen the rump Ukraine to avoid the Russians just taking the rest in a year or two – so military deliveries anyway?
Oh, there would still have been military deliveries — but probably not in time to prevent the Russians from securing the Donbas, etc.
It was Putin openly announcing that he planned to take all of Ukraine (whether he actually intended to or not) that allowed it to be sold as an “urgent necessity, earliest possible date” intervention instead of just another single step down the frozen conflict path.
I can see your point. If Putin did not try to take Kiev and by extension all of Ukraine, the response might have been different.
I don’t think Putin tried to take Kiev. I think the advance on Kiev was a strategic feint meant to tie down Ukrainian troops so those troops couldn’t be used in the Donbas area.
But that’s just, like, my opinion, man.
If it was a feint, it was not a good idea. It gave Ukraine a much needed victory which than encourage more Western support. When Russia retreated they left behind a massive public relations mess based on the way their troops acted.
Right. Let’s add another bullet to the chamber of that gun we’re playing Russian roulette with. Pretty soon it will be fully loaded, and the next squeeze of the trigger will blow our collectives heads off.
So you think that Russia would start a nuclear war if we gave more aid to Ukraine? Question when the USSR sent massive amounts of aid to North Vietnam why was there no talk about US starting a nuclear war with the USSR?
I would guess the difference was that neither side thought that proxy war was an existential threat.
And neither is this war. Putin is just using that as an excuse, he knows Ukraine was never a threat to Russia and so do you.
Man, you are dense. This isn’t Russia against Ukraine. Ukraine is being used as a sacrificial lamb to weaken Russia as stated by the US. The US even admits they will only arm Ukraine to the point that it won’t lead to a direct conflict with Russia.
That rotten MOFU!!!! Demoncratz and Republikratz,,,PURGE them all!!!
Never mind inflation, loss of manufacturing, Southern Border, economy, homeless,,,,it is all about Ukraine! What CHUMPS these F###### take us for, and they are probably right about the majority….;)
Well someone is having bad day.
You heard that right. The #1 priority of the GOP is not their Constituents, not the American people, but a Nazi leaning regime on Russia’s border just to prolong a war that’s bringing suffering at home. What the hell is wrong with these people?
Pride and avarice are two of the 7 deadly sins.
“Nazi leaning regime”. I suppose if Ukraine was not led by a Jew, you would drop the “leaning” part.
Self hatred is by far the most destructive kind of hatred.
Russian speaker too – their arguments are contrived beyond parody.
Nazi Germany was led by Christians.
Reps. in the ancient past were the anti-war party and enforced the anti-trust laws. But, like I keep saying republics are a symbiosis of gov. and business, wealth and power where both factions exchange what the other needs for more wealth and power. It is now at critical mass and the explosion is coming sooner than you think.
I hate to admit it, but Trump was right in calling McConnell an old crow.
Trump insulted everyone who he disliked.
Yes, he did. In this case he was absolutely right. McConnell is an old crow that needs to go.
Well the people in Kentucky don’t think so. They first sent him to the Senate in 1984 and they keep sending him back.
Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people!
In an unrelated story, most Republicans turn out to be gloperialist garbage
Have you asked the taxpayers Mitch or are your just bloviating again?
Where’s the poll data?