Category Archives: Republican

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I recognize the right to bear arms, and for me to whine about how shortsighted Ohioans are on this constitutional right is to pick a fight that cant be won.

In the 1700s, the right made sense. An armed militia had a duty that served and protected. Nowadays, firearms that people can readily buy at Walmart seem out of sync with contemporary mores.

But some safeguards had been in place till now.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation Monday that loosened the restrictions on gun ownership. Recreating in Ohio the Wild West days of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, DeWine thought it wise to allow a person over the age of 21 to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.

The legislation the governor OKd also eliminated the requirement that a person take classes to obtain a gun permit. People can walk into a gun shop, show ID and then slide that Glock 19 they bought into their waistband.

This is what we get in feckless politicians like DeWine and from state legislators who govern year-round. Their idle minds find ways to make mischief and awaken a political base, and what better way to do that than stoking fears about crime and how to protect ourselves against it?

Stand-your-ground legislation is one thing; having two people stand their ground with handguns is a different proposition altogether.

Tuning out those who knew better, DeWine and Republicans trampled the concerns of local cops and county sheriffs. The Fraternal Order of Police, predicting a rise in violent crime, had opposed the legislation.

One Democrat in the Ohio Senate called the law anti-public safety and anti-police.

He was right.

To put a face to such concerns, critics of the law Im one of them need only recount the tale of the off-duty police officer killed on New Years Eve in a West Side carjacking.

Charged in his death was an 18-year-old woman who should not have had a handgun in her possession. We know she had no problem finding one.

Various sources put the number of guns at 393 million in homes and other places in America, enough to ensure every person has one. In 2021, gun deaths topped 20,000, and deaths from bullet wounds continue to pile up in 2022.

What the totals suggest is that guns dont make the U.S. safer; they make it deadlier.

I suspect Clevelanders who support open carry and freer access to guns will trumpet the fact murders here dipped from 179 in 2020 to 165 last year, ignoring two salient points: covid isolation and the fact the 21 total was still the second highest in decades.

Lawmakers had to have heard bullets ricocheting in Columbus as well. The city recorded more gun deaths in 2021 than in 2020.

Gun ownership is an obsession of Ohioans. Many cling to this constitutional right; few of them apologize for standing behind the Second Amendment, 26 well-chosen words unseen in the governing principles of fellow democracies.

Jefferson, Hancock & Co. followed no blueprint in penning these magnificent words, which reflect a pioneers soul.

Their handiwork, however, needs revision. For nobody wants to see shootouts that mirror the O.K. Corral.

Im unsurprised DeWine disregarded the carnage handguns left on Black lives. But did he forget the lives in blue?

Let me answer: Yes.

Justice B. Hill grew up on the citys East Side. He practiced journalism for more than 25 years before settling into teaching at Ohio University. He quit May 15, 2019, to write and globetrot. Hes doing both.

Justice Hill, columnist for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. January 14, 2022. - Justice Hill, columnist for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer David Petkiewcz, cleveland.comDavid Petkiewcz, cleveland.com

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Gov. DeWine and Republican lawmakers trampled police concerns over law that will transform Ohio into Wild We - cleveland.com

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Pick the real Republican in District 2 House race - The Herald Journal

Patsy Hazlewood has been busily killing or trying to kill - good pieces of Conservative legislation and often finds herself voting with Democrats more than Republicans.

Here are three examples. I could give you more, but I have work to do...

Hazlewood recently voted against a bill that would secure freedom of speech for Conservatives in Tennessee by banning censorship on social media platforms that function as a de facto monopoly. I suppose she does not realize that Conservative voices, candidates and causes are being silenced, censored and banned.

This social media censorship bill passed yesterday despite her opposition.

She voted recently against a bill that would have ended vaccine passports in entertainment venues if those venues receive your tax dollars. I suppose she thinks Republicans with natural immunity or religious objections should fall in line and receive a medical treatment against their will even though we know vaccination does not stop transmission of COVID-19.

his religious and medical freedom bill was killed by her and a handful of other RINOs.

Hazlewood also voted against transparency in school board races, so constituents would know if those running for office were Republicans or Democrats. Apparently, all the forced masking of children, endless quarantining, critical race theory instruction and sexualization of our children pushed by the left isnt something shes worried about. Not something she has noticed as a problem.

This also passed, without her support.

Now, tell me this: Whats the point of running as a Republican if you vote like a Democrat when it really matters most?

Republicans need to pay closer attention to those who glad-hand at GOP events, yet go to Nashville and actively work against the Conservative agenda.

Someone needs to run against Hazelwood in the next available primary before she does more damage to our county and state.

Almost any random Republican with a pulse would be closer to the will of the Republican primary voter.

When you see Patsy out and about, ask her about these votes. Or, better yet, email and call her office. Many do few receive replies.

If you get a reply, please let me know how she justifies her actions.

Brandon Lewis

* * *

Maybe Mrs. Hazlewoods votes as a whole, while not as conservative as youd like, are closer to the Overton Window than yours are.

Mike Willingham

* * *

Knowing that Rep. Patsy Hazlewood is a person of great character and integrity, I believe she considers all sides of an issue in a non-partisan way and votes her conscience which well serves all her constituency and not any one specific group. She is worthy of our trust and gratitude for her years of service.

Lynda Walker

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The Sad Truth: Patsy Hazlewood's Anti-Republican Voting Record - And Response (2) - The Chattanoogan

The County Convention of the Guilford County Republican Party attracted two of the three front running Republican US Senate candidates to speak to the several hundred Republicans assembled.

At the March 12 Republican Guilford County Convention at Charity Baptist Church on Battleground Avenue, all Republican candidates in attendance were given the opportunity to speak for three minutes each, and a host of Republican candidates from across the state took advantage of the opportunity, including two who will be at the top of the May 17 Republican primary ballot running for the Republican nomination to the US Senate seat currently held by Sen. Richard Burr, who is not running for reelection.

There are 14 Republican candidates in the Senate primary, but the top three get most of the headlines, and two of those top three, former NC Gov. Pat McCrory and former 6th District Congressman Mark Walker, spoke at the convention.

According to a poll conducted by the John Locke Foundation in January, McCrory is leading with 24 percent, 13th District Congressman Ted Budd is second with 19 percent and Walker is third with 7 percent. Marjorie Eastman, who also spoke at the convention, had less than 1 percent in that survey.

Budd did not attend the convention.

Eastman, who along with McCrory and Walker, participated in the debate held by the Lock Foundation in February mainly focused on her experience as a combat veteran, a political outsider and a mom. Those are, as she noted, three attributes the other two candidates speaking at the convention couldnt claim.

McCrory, who served as mayor of Charlotte for 14 years before serving four years as governor, noted that he grew up in Jamestown and was a graduate of Ragsdale High School and that Jamestown was where he learned his values.

In speaking of the 2016 race against Gov. Roy Cooper, McCrory said that a lot of political pundits had said, If I hadnt fought for your values I would have won, but I wouldnt change a damn thing.

He also noted that while governor he turned deficits in the state budget into surpluses while significantly lowering taxes.

Walker spoke about his own record serving as a conservative in Congress for six years, but took a different tack, saying, This is about spiritual warfare much more than it is about politics, and we have to have candidates who understand we are battling evil.

Walker also noted that when NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson had recently been attacked for speaking against pornography in elementary schools, he had been the only candidate to come out in support of Robinson.

(The photo is, from left, Pat McCrory, and Kelly and Mark Walker.)

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Republican County Convention Attracts Two Of Three Top GOP Senate Candidates - The Rhino Times of Greensboro - The Rhino TImes

As a conservative Republican and president of the Ada County Lincoln Day Association and the District 19 legislative chairwoman and precinct committeewoman for Precinct 1913, Im deeply dismayed by the lack of voices from the right directly condemning our lieutenant governors recent appearance at white nationalist conference, sharing the roster with known Holocaust deniers and antisemitic agitators.

As U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, there is no place for white supremacy or antisemitism in the Republican Party.

As a Jewish woman, I grew up learning from those who served in World War II and the consequences of the Holocaust were instilled in me at a young age and deepened my faith. Being Jewish to me means we can never take for granted our long history as survivors. Our horrifying near-extinction at the hands of Nazi Germany and its allies is all too real, and to deny this history is unforgiveable.

Sometimes, people are earnestly curious about Jewish people and culture, and are open to conversations. Because there are so few of us, most Idahoans simply know very little about us. But the Holocaust didnt happen out of nowhere. Antisemitism often begins in understated ways, with subtle slurs and coded phrases, or in more explicit pejorative graffiti like weve seen recently along the Boise Greenbelt and at the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial.

Even more rare than Jewish Idahoans are Jewish members of the Idaho Republican Party. My involvement in the Idaho GOP has raised a few eyebrows over the years, but to me, conservative support of Israel, a tenet of the Republican platform since the early 1990s, is central to my political and Jewish identities. Israel is a beacon of hope, the only true democracy in the Middle East that upholds freedom, democracy and personal choice.

I am deeply dismayed to see the escalating dehumanization of Israel and the Jewish people from the extreme wings of both the right and left, including the endorsements of McGeachin by the likes of those who McGeachin has surrounded herself with, like Vincent James Foxx, a white supremacist, Vladimir Putin supporter and Holocaust denier. Its appalling that Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin would participate as a speaker at a white nationalist event like AFPAC. Its unimaginable to me that a sitting statewide official and candidate for Idaho governor would attend let alone speak at a white nationalist conference led by the likes of Nick Fuentes, James Foxx, and others who espouse political violence, the purity of the white race, and antisemitism.

Countering the political normalization of antisemitism and white nationalism starts by recognizing the deep history of prejudice against the Jewish people and how antisemitic conspiracies seek to undermine the America we are so proud of. Naming the scourge of antisemitism requires constant vigilance from all of us and should be modeled by our elected leaders.Republicans must demand a basic standard of decency from our political candidates and elected officials. Janice McGeachin is falling far below those standards now: the company she keeps is repugnant, and her openness to anti-Semitic and anti-democracy worldviews is, simply, disqualifying. I invite my fellow conservatives to join me in calling for her resignation.

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As a conservative Republican, I'm deeply dismayed at lack of voices from GOP condemning McGeachin - Idaho Capital Sun

A senior Republican senator on Sunday said the Ukrainian people were urging the US and Nato to close the skies over Ukraine, hours after a logistics hub and training base for foreign fighters 11 miles from the Polish border was struck by Russian forces, killing 35.

People are just distraught and the message theyre giving us is loud and clear, as you can imagine, which is close the skies because the skies are where the bombs are coming, whether the missile attacks or airplane attacks or the artillery, Ohio senator Rob Portman told CNN during a visit to the Poland-Ukraine border.

The US intelligence community has said that any attempt to create a no-fly zone would risk escalation. The US has also turned down a Polish offer to supply jets to Ukraine via an American airbase in Germany.

Asked if supplying Ukraine with Russian-made MiG-29s could trigger a third world war, Portman told CNNs State of the Union he didnt know why that would be true.

The Russians have complained about everything, he said. Vladimir Putin has said that the sanctions are an act of war.

Russia, Portman said, complained when we provided Stingers directly from the US government, which can knock down an airplane and have been successful in doing that at lower altitudes. We have given [Ukraine] helicopters.

What we have heard directly from the Ukrainians is they want [the jets] badly. They want the ability to have better control over the skies in order to give them a fighting chance. So I dont understand why were not doing it.

Portman welcomed an indication from Jake Sullivan, Bidens national security adviser, that anti-aircraft systems could be provided.

Sullivan repeated Joe Bidens opposition to the transfer of offensive weapons while underlining commitment to supplying defensive arms, telling CBSs Face the Nation the US and allies believe in our capacity to continue to flow substantial amounts of military assistance, weapons and supplies to the front in Ukraine.

We have been successful in doing so thus far and we believe we have a system in place that will allow us to continue to do so, notwithstanding Russian threats.

Russia claimed the strike on the Yavoriv base was against foreign fighters and weapons. The Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, told ABCs This Week no Americans were at the facility.

But Kirby reiterated that the US and allies would continue to flow and to move and to reposition forces and capabilities along Natos eastern flank to make sure that we can defend every inch of Nato territory if we need to.

Weve made it very clear to Russia that Nato territory will be defended not just by the United States, but by our allies.

Of calls to supply jets or announce a no-fly zone, Kirby said: We can all understand the kind of escalatory measure that might be perceived as.

The US deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, said Russia showed signs of willingness to have real, serious negotiations, despite four sets of talks having failed.

Sherman told Fox News Sunday the US had been working to put enormous pressure on Vladimir Putin to try to change his calculus, to end this war, to get a ceasefire in the first instance, to get humanitarian corridors, and to end this invasion.

That pressure is beginning to have some effect, Sherman said, though she added: It appears that Vladimir Putin is intent on destroying Ukraine.

On Saturday, the White House approved an additional $200m of military assistance.

We are determined and the Ukrainians are determined to ensure that anti-tank, anti-armor, anti-air capabilities, ammunition and other forms of assistance actually do make it to the front to blunt the Russian advance, Sullivan told NBCs Meet the Press. Were coordinating the efforts of our allies and partners to do the same thing.

Last week, Biden warned of a severe price if Russia used chemical or biological weapons. Sullivan said Russian claims about supposed Ukrainian bio-weapons labs signaled that Moscow could be preparing to do so.

When Russia starts accusing other countries of potentially doing something, its a good tell that they may be on the cusp of doing it themselves, he said.

What were here to do is to deny them the capacity to have a false flag operation to blame this on the Ukrainians or on us, to take away their pretext and to make the world understand that if chemical weapons are used in Ukraine, it is the Russians who will have used them. And the response will, as the president said, be severe.

Sullivan met with Chinas top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Rome on Monday. Sullivan said the US would respond to any attempts to work around western sanctions on Russia.

We have made it clear to not just Beijing but every country in the world that if they think that they can basically bail Russia out, they can give Russia a workaround to the sanctions that weve imposed, they should have another think coming because we will ensure that neither China, nor anyone else, can compensate Russia for these losses, Sullivan told NBC.

He declined to lay out what steps the US might take, saying: We will communicate that privately to China, as we have already done and will continue to do.

Later, in response to reports Moscow had asked Beijing for military equipment, the Chinese embassy in the US said Chinas top priority was to prevent the situation in Ukraine from getting out of control.

The economic consequences of the war in Ukraine have yet to register heavily in US polls. On CNN, Portman deployed a Republican attack line, blaming Biden for not expanding domestic drilling for oil. Biden has countered that US oil companies have not exploited existing permits.

A CBS poll found that 77% of Americans across the political spectrum are willing to pay more for gas as a result of sanctions to punish Russia. According to the poll, 69% said economic pain now might be a wise hedge against bigger problems later.

Americans largely believe Russia has designs on invading other countries.

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Top Republican says Ukrainian people urging US and Nato to close the skies - The Guardian

A delegation of six Republican lieutenant governors will arrive in Israel on Friday for a weeklong trade mission sponsored by the State Government Leadership Foundation (SGLF), a GOP advocacy group.

The trip, which concludes on March 25, will provide the lieutenant governors with a greater understanding of the American-Israeli alliance and how their individual states can continue to benefit from the economic partnership the two nations share, said Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for the SGLF.

Participants will include Jeanette Nuez of Florida, Suzanne Crouch of Indiana, Mike Foley of Nebraska, Pamela Evette of South Carolina, Deidre Henderson of Utah and mission chair Adam Gregg of Iowa.

Jon Husted, the lieutenant governor of Ohio, had originally been scheduled to join the delegation but is no longer going because of a scheduling conflict, according to Romeo.

Israel is a global leader in innovation, a strategic ally for America and a critical trade partner for Florida, Nuez said in a statement to Jewish Insider. The trade mission will allow us to deepen our understanding between America and Israel as we continue to strengthen our long-standing partnership.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with a number of high-ranking Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll and Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov, according to a tentative itinerary shared with JI.

The lieutenant governors will also hold discussions with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer, among other current and former Israeli and American diplomats.

Some meetings, including with Bennett, are subject to change, according to Romeo.

Israel not only shares our values, but they are also a strong economic partner, Gregg said in a statement to JI. Im confident this trip will be a great opportunity to expand our working relationship with Israel and will create long-term benefits for Iowa farmers and businesses.

During the trip, participants will also visit agricultural areas and defense facilities such as an Iron Dome battery site.

The SGLF the policy arm of the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national organization that supports down-ballot GOP candidates in state elections led a similar trade mission to Israel in 2016 with lieutenant governors from Wisconsin and Nevada, among other states.

The group announced plans for a second trip last August, framing the delegation as a demonstration of solidarity following the conflict between Israel and Hamas as well as an announcement from Ben & Jerrys that the ice cream company would stop selling its products in what it referred to as Occupied Palestinian Territory.

A number of Democratic and Republican congressional delegations made trips to Israel in February, and former Vice President Mike Pence visited last week.

The lieutenant governors trip to Israel, Crouch said in a statement to JI, will allow us to make clear that we will continue to stand with them as a political and economic ally.

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Republican LGs to arrive in Israel on Friday for weeklong trade mission - Jewish Insider

Its the MAGA battle cry heading into the primaries.

Hes a grandstanding RINO.-Donald Trump about retiring Ohio Republican congressman Anthony Gonzalez who voted to impeach him for Jan 6.

Mike DeWine is the biggest RINO in America today.-Jim Renacci, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate about the Republican incumbent.

Ohio is not going to tolerate RINOs anymore.-Marjorie Taylor Green in endorsing Ohio Republican J.D. Vance for the U.S. Senate.

This guy [DeWine] is the epitome of a RINO; hes everything that is wrong with the Republican Party.-Josh Mandel, Ohio Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

Theyve got it all wrong. Those screaming the pejorative acronym RINO (Republican in Name Only) at Republicans they jeer as squishy conservatives, have it backwards. They, the norm-breaking, law-flouting, truth-denying, science-deriding extremists, are the real RINOs. Theyre the posers, as far from what used to pass for traditional conservatives as neofascists can get. Definitely not your fathers GOP.

One historian mused that the intellectual predecessors of todays Republicans wouldnt even recognize them as members of the same party. Gotta say, not even close to the Ohio Republicans Ive known, respected and even voted for in bygone years. Thats because the real RINOs dont give a damn about actual conservative values. They dismiss expertise, obstruct accountability, thwart progress, support regression. The real RINOs champion no policies. They offer no problem-solving, no persuasive arguments. Just clickbait attacking Democrats as the antichrists on social media.

They peddle fear and loathing for likes. The media is fake and hateful. Godless liberals are ruining everything pure and wholesome and white in America. The more apocalyptic the outrage, the better. Its a power trip. Light a match on Twitter and watch it all burn. So what if you shred the fabric of the nation in the process? Self-styled conservatives dont want to conserve the foundations of the American experiment. They want to dismantle them outright. They voted to overturn a free and fair democratic election after a terrorizing assault on the U.S. Capitol, for Petes sake.

The real RINOs are also zero-sum game combatants out to defeat Republicans who arent. These Party of Lincoln pretenders sidle up to white supremacists, lend legitimacy to bigots and lean into justifiable insurrection to become far-right celebs. They foment racial division, fuel anti-Semitism and lie through their teeth 24/7 about a stolen election that wasnt. They cheer the patriots who viciously beat police, trashed the Capitol and hunted down lawmakers in a violent siege to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

The real RINOs are shameless opportunists looking for nationwide fame and fundraising fortune. To that end, they are willing to fatally wound the last best hope for democracy in the world by pledging total allegiance to a traitorous ex-president who nearly destroyed it.

While the vindictive snake plots his comeback to the White House as a Putinesque thug, the Republicans in name only grovel for his endorsement as an Orwellian badge of honor. Up is down. Black is white. The sore loser of the 2020 presidential election is the legitimate winner. And radical rightists, lining up to return a man to power who nearly ended the republic, are Republicans with firm beliefs in conserving the Republic.

In that alternate universe, the characters masquerading as true conservatives are traipsing around the country getting rich on the gullible as ultra-right provocateurs. They are essentially grifters exploiting white grievance and preaching the false gospel of MAGA on a lucrative circuit selling extreme. They rake in mega bucks in donations. With the fervor of an old-fashioned tent revival, they spread hate and stoke anger, feed intolerance and cultivate mistrust, plant conspiracy and taunt militancy.

They rally to Take America Back. Back to where? To a place where the superiority of white men was unquestioned? To a place where liberty and justice are denied to all but a chosen few the authentic Americans that meet select litmus tests? Is unwavering loyalty to a corrupt authoritarian who incited an assault on Congress essential for Republicans who want to win primaries?

Will those who dare speak truth to voters about the legitimacy of Joe Bidens victory and reject the false, self-serving narrative constantly repeated by the vanquished be the target of RINO slurs by Trumpian agitators?

Yes, to all of the above. But as history professor Robert McElvaine wrote for NBC News, we need to stop providing the cover of Republican legitimacy to those who have, by their cravenness, given up any claim to the legacy of Lincolns party. We need to call them what they truly are, to make it easier for the public to see what theyre doing.

He has suggestions.

One accurate name for those who shroud their anti-republican actions in the false label Republican would be the Anti-Republican Party; other truthful designations could include the Authoritarian Party; the Autocracy Party, the Radical Rightwing Party or the Anti-American Party.

Any will do. They all aptly describe those trumpeting the RINO battle cry.

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The law-flouting, truth-denying, science-deriding Trumpian Republican extremists are the real RINOs - Ohio Capital Journal

Fox News anchor Bret Baier confronted Senator Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, on Sunday over his vote against additional military aid to Ukraine, asking him to "defend that vote."

In total, 31 GOP senators voted against the aid, which was passed as part of an omnibus $1.5 trillion appropriations package. While many of the Republicans said they supported sending additional support, they criticized the lack of time they were given to review the massive bill that provided funding for a range of different government priorities, and would have supported a targeted Ukraine bill instead.

During an interview with Fox News Sunday, Risch contended that the U.S. should be sending surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine to help them set-up their own no-fly zone. Baier then pointed out that Risch had just voted against sending military aid to the Eastern European nation as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to press his internationally condemned invasion of the neighboring country.

"Senator, you voted against the omnibus and in there is aid for Ukraine. So you're talking about aid going into Ukraine, but you voted against that," the host said. "Defend that vote."

"If it was just that straight up vote this would have been absolute no-brainer for me," Risch responded. "I support that 100 percent," the Idaho Republican continued, noting that he was against the "other pork" included in the overall package.

"Whenever we have these doggone big bills you're damned if you do and damned if you don't when you vote yes or no," he said. "I hope that no one would take this as not being in support of the Ukrainian people."

In addition to Risch, some of the GOP senators who voted against the bill included: Ted Cruz of Texas, Steve Daines of Montana, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mitt Romney of Utah, Marco Rubio of Florida, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Rick Scott of Florida, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

"Forcing us to swallow the bad to get the good is concerning, unsustainable, and no way to govern over the long-term. While I strongly support providing Ukrainians desperately needed aid, I ultimately could not support the rest of this bloated spending bill for the aforementioned reasons," Romney said in a statement about his vote.

Rubio shared similar thoughts about his opposition to the omnibus package on Twitter.

"We should have passed funding for Ukraine two weeks ago," he tweeted. "But instead, Democrats held it hostage so it could ram through thousands of earmarks, green new deal programs, the hiring of 10,000 IRS agents & other woke priorities buried in thousands of pages. This is a ridiculous process."

Of the $13.6 billion ultimately approved for Ukraine, over $6.5 billion will go to the Pentagon to be dispersed. Another $3.9 billion will go to the State Department to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians, and a further $2.8 billion will go to the U.S. Agency for International Development as it provides support as well.

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Fox Host Confronts Republican for Voting Against Ukraine Aid: 'Defend That' - Newsweek

One of two Republicans on the House January 6 committee has said he regrets his vote against the first impeachment of Donald Trump, for withholding military aid to Ukraine in an attempt to obtain dirt on rivals including Joe Biden.

In tweets posted on Friday, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued, with cities besieged and bombarded, Adam Kinzinger said: I want to be honest, in Congress I have only a few votes that in hinds[igh]t, I regret. My biggest regret was voting against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.

Its important for political leaders to be transparent and admit regret when needed. The bottom line, Donald Trump withheld lethal aid to Ukraine so he could use it as leverage for his campaign. This is a shameful and illegal act, directly hurting the Ukraine defense today.

I wish I could go back in time and vote for it, but I cannot. What we can do now is to ensure that this never happens again, and that we all put the interests of our nation above our party. Alexander Vindman [a White House official who was fired for opposing Trumps Ukraine scheme] and others deserve our appreciation.

No House Republicans voted to impeach Trump over the Ukraine scandal, which saw only the Utah senator Mitt Romney vote to convict in the Senate. Kinzinger, from Illinois, was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him for inciting the deadly Capitol attack.

Kinzinger is also among such Republicans who have announced that they will retire at the next election, rather than face a Trump-anointed challenger.

Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the other Republican on the January 6 committee, faces such a primary challenge. She also voted not to impeach Trump over Ukraine but to impeach him over the Capitol riot.

Trump is in legal jeopardy over January 6, his attempts to overturn the election and his business affairs. But he still dominates the Republican party and polling of possible presidential nominees in 2024. He has hinted heavily and repeatedly that he will indeed run.

In response to Kinzingers tweets, Edward Luce of the Financial Times said he want[ed] to hear more as it cant be that you were ignorant of the facts or of the nature of Trump.

Luce added: Its always admirable to admit mistakes it would be an even greater service to hear about the psychology of such politics as most of his colleagues are still acting that way.

Kinzinger did not immediately elaborate.

His party remains home to politicians who have praised Vladimir Putin, not least Trump himself.

The former president has repeatedly praised the Russian president for being smart, though he has condemned the Ukraine war. On Thursday night, Trump repeatedly rebuffed attempts by the Fox News host Sean Hannity to get him to say Putin was evil or an enemy.

Another House Republican, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, a prominent Trump supporter, was reported this week to have called the president of Ukraine, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, a thug and his government incredibly evil.

On Twitter, Kinzinger said: This is the sad but successful impact of Russias cyber operation that weve seen pushed and promoted on conservative outlets. The threat is real and its dangerous. Case in point: a sitting US congressman is echoing Putin propaganda.

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Republican Kinzinger: I should have voted to impeach Trump over Ukraine - The Guardian