On December 22, 2022, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley described Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s speech before Congress as a “photo op.”
“I didn’t go to the speech, because I didn’t want to be part of a photo op asking for more money from the United States government when they have not given us a single piece of accounting on anything they spent,” Hawley declared.
On the night of December 21, Zelensky spoke before a joint meeting of Congress after a visit to the White House, describing US taxpayer aid to Ukraine “an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”
Several Republicans, which included Hawley and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz and Colorado Congresswoman Lauren, refused to attend Zelensky’s speech or refused to applaud. These Republicans justified their actions by calling attention to the Ukrainian government’s corruption or they opposed the copious amounts of military aid to Ukraine on the grounds that this conflict is of no concern to America.
“I’m worried about putting us deeper in debt and worried about the American public,” declared California Congressman Kevin McCarthy, who many expect to be the incoming House Majority Leader. “They always come first.”
According to a previous BLP report, the latest round of Ukraine aid will bring the total amount of taxpayer-funded aid to north of $110 billion. The DC uniparty doesn’t care about serving the interests of the American people. Instead, it prefers to subsidize foreign nations such as Ukraine while millions of Americans suffer from the precarious economic state.
That’s how the cookie crumbles in globalist America. Hopefully, Republicans like Hawley gain more influence within the GOP and start re-orienting the US’s foreign policy in a more realist direction.