'Donald Trump’s right-wing nationalist project': Why a GOP-led Congress would be terrible for Ukraine

21 September 2022

Democratic strategists and liberal pundits have been laying out a variety of reasons why they dread the possibility of Republicans recapturing the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate in the 2022 midterms, from abortion rights to climate change to same-sex marriage to voting rights. Foreign policy and the war in Ukraine aren’t mentioned as often, but in an opinion column published by the Washington Post on September 20, liberals Paul Waldman and Greg Sargent argue that Ukrainians will be among the losers if Democrats fail to keep their House majority in November.

“Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. government and many Americans have treated it as a given that we are deeply invested in this conflict, in practical and moral terms,” Waldman and Sargent explain. “But there are some dissenters, many aligned with Donald Trump’s right-wing nationalist project, who for numerous reasons, have been deeply skeptical of the Ukrainian cause and our support for it. Now, with Congress debating a new round of funding for Ukraine, a question has arisen: If Republicans take back one or both houses of Congress, could they turn off the spigot of military and even humanitarian aid?”

For their column, Waldman and Sargent interviewed Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and he shares their concerns about Ukraine and control of the House in the 2022 midterms.

Murphy told the columnists, “If Republicans win control of the House or the Senate, I think there’s a likelihood that they will hold up any additional aid…. I think there’s a real risk that the continuing resolution will be the last time we supply funding to Ukraine…. The MAGA wing of the party, which is the dominant wing, says and thinks a lot of nice things about (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”

Waldman and Sargent believe that U.S. aid to Ukraine is facing an even greater threat from House Republicans than from Republicans in the U.S. Senate, as Republicans in the House are especially “beholden to Trump.”

The columnists explain, “Much GOP rhetoric on this is couched in fiscal terms, saying we shouldn’t spend so much on Ukraine when needs are unmet at home. Traditional conservative groups such as Heritage Action for America have urged Republicans to vote against Ukraine aid packages, and 57 Republicans in the House voted no in May on a $40 billion aid package. But some of the most direct pledges to cut off aid come from far-right Trumpists such as Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who are forthright about their sympathies."

Waldman and Sargent note that Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) once said, "Ukraine is not our ally. Russia is not our enemy.”

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