The Republican Party has really devolved in values from its heyday as the party of national security and American troops. Currently, House Republicans are refusing to even allow a vote on the Senate’s National Security bill that actually helps American troops.
So it is that on the two year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan took to Fox News to tell their viewers that actually, that National Security Supplemental they are so against helps American troops protect Americans from our adversaries.
Sullivan on Fox News Sunday:
Sullivan also laid out the stakes of the National Security Supplemental and how critical its passage is not just to helping Ukraine – but to ensuring American troops have the tools they need to deter our adversaries. pic.twitter.com/WVPUvPuy3q
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
— Robyn Patterson (@RMPatterson46) February 25, 2024
“We have discovered over the past two years, since start of war in Ukraine, since Biden came into office that the cupboards were not as full as they should have based on underinvestment over the course of the past 20 years. And have been working since day one of this administration to build up the defense industrial base, to increase production of critical munition systems,” Sullivan said, rather kindly not pointing fingers about the “underinvestment” over the past 20 years, which crosses party lines of administrations but most recently would have been Donald Trump’s responsibility.
“And three years into the Biden administration, we are producing significantly more than the day we walked into office. Second, this bipartisan bill that the senate just passed is best answer to your question and contains substantial resources to enhance the production capacity of our defense industrial base so that we can build build munitions not just for Ukraine, but also to make sure that the United States military has the tools it needs to deter any adversary anywhere in the world the world at any time.”
This isn’t a partisan notion, either.
Lead negotiator of the bipartisan legislation in the Senate, Republican Senator Susan Collins, said of the bill that was sent to the U.S. House, “The national security bill passed by the Senate is of profound importance to America’s security. It would provide updated, effective munitions and equipment to our troops, allow our Navy to continue its vital operations in the Red Sea, and rebuild our flagging defense industrial base.”
“…Furthermore, it would help deter a menacing China whose Navy now exceeds the size of ours. Each of these investments is in our national interest.”
Conservatives have been inundated with Russian propaganda about the bipartisan Senate bill. This propaganda has looked for any way possible to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine, including suggesting that we need to spend our money at home.
But of course, this bill does spend money at home. Not only does it help our troops protect the U.S., but as Sullivan said on Fox, “If we don’t pass this bill, it is going to mean less money going to 40 of the 50 states of the United States that are currently in the process of producing critical munition. We have to get that money out the door.”
So why is Speaker Johnson refusing to allow the bill to even come up for a vote? Why is the U.S. House, under Republican leadership, putting the national security and safety of Americans at risk to help a hostile foreign country?
A Special Message From PoliticusUSA
If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here.
We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
This story originally appeared on Politicususa