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Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, warns that the Republican Party is being infiltrated by pro-Russian propaganda. © Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post
US support for Ukraine is currently on hold. The debates continue in Congress. Some Republicans are on Putin's course.
Washington, DC – Representative Michael R. Turner clarified Sunday the state of some members of Congress' relationship with Russia. The Republican, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said it was "absolutely true" that some of his colleagues in Congress were repeating propaganda about Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Turner did not specify which members he was referring to, but he said he agreed with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.). The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said in an interview with
Puck News
that Russian propaganda had "infected a good portion of my party's base." McCaul blamed the conservative media in the US.
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When asked, Turner saw it the same way. "We're seeing attempts to obscure anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian messages directly from Russia - some of which we even hear in the chamber," Turner said on
CNN
's "State of the Union."
The pro-Russia messages, Turner said, have made it harder for Ukraine advocates in the GOP to portray the conflict as a "battle between authority and democracy." “Ukraine needs our help and support now, and this is a very critical time for the U.S. Congress to provide that assistance,” Turner continued.
Billions of dollars in military funding for Ukraine has stalled in Congress
Billions of dollars in urgently needed military funding for Ukraine has been stalled in Congress for months as opposition grows from Republicans, particularly the right flank of the GOP. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has suggested striking a "peace deal with Russia" rather than supporting Ukraine, has vowed to unseat House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), he should push ahead with a vote on an aid package.
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Washington in December to seek a breakthrough for additional U.S. military aid, Greene spoke out against it. Greene wrote on X: “Why is no one in Washington talking about a peace treaty with Russia? An agreement with Putin in which he promises that he will not carry out any further invasions. Answer: Washington wants war, not peace.”
US allies and NATO members are also increasingly concerned about future Russian aggression. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that if Donald Trump wins the November election, he is proposing to pressure Ukraine to cede swathes of its territory to Russia, thereby expanding the reach of Putin's dictatorship.
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Will the US aid package for Ukraine still come about?
However, some MPs are more optimistic that a deal will be reached. French Hill (R-Ark.) appeared convinced of a solution on the
CBS
show “Face the Nation” on Sunday. The Ukraine aid advocate said he believes Johnson will prioritize passing additional security aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after Congress returns Tuesday from a two-week recess. “I believe he is fully committed to bringing this to the table immediately,” Hill said.
The Senate passed a $95.3 billion funding package earlier this year. Many senators have echoed White House warnings that without new arms shipments from the United States, Ukraine risks ceding its war to Russia.
But Johnson has so far refused to bring the Senate package to a vote in the House of Representatives in the face of fierce opposition from his far-right flank.
Hill, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, indicated that Johnson would likely put forward a version of the additional national security package that includes an additional provision to redirect certain frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's reconstruction.
However, any changes to the legislation in the House would cause significant further delays in delivering the aid as the chambers would be forced to reach agreement and approve the differences. However, Hill said he believes there is broad bipartisan support for the new provision, known as the REPO law.
To the authors
Abigail Hauslohner
is a national security reporter at The Washington Post focusing on Congress. In her decade at the paper, she served as a correspondent, writing on topics ranging from immigration to political extremism, and covered the Middle East as the Post's Cairo bureau chief.
Yvonne Wingett
Sanchez writes about election issues in Arizona for the Washington Post. She previously covered politics for the Arizona Republic.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on April 8, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.