U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced today that he’s “putting congressional leadership and the President of the United States on notice that I will oppose any effort to hold the federal government hostage for Ukraine funding.” He added: “I will not consent to expedited passage of any spending measure that provides any more US aid to Ukraine.”
Today I'm putting congressional leadership & @POTUS on notice that I will oppose any effort to hold the federal government hostage for Ukraine funding. I will not consent to expedited passage of any spending measure that provides any more US aid to Ukraine.…
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 20, 2023
Note: The U.S. has approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion so far, totaling about $113 billion. This week, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden is seeking an additional $24 billion in security and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
This is not the first time Paul has objected to the U.S. aiding a country facing Russian animosity and pushing for protective NATO membership.
As seen in the March 2017 video below, when the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) led the vote to advance Montenegro’s bid to join NATO, Paul objected and then left the room.
McCain responded: “This is really remarkable. That a senator, blocking a treaty that’s supported by an overwhelming majority of his colleagues, to come to the floor, and object, and walk away… the only conclusion you can draw, when he walks away, is that he has no argument to make. He has no justification for his objection.” McCain concludes: “The Senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin.”
Note: In June 2017, Montenegro became the 29th member of NATO.
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