(NewsInsights.org) – The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has surpassed 750 days. While the Biden administration has continued to push for another aid package, fiscally conservative Republicans, eyeing a gross national debt of more than $34 trillion, questioned funding Ukraine without conditions or limits, repeatedly pumping the brakes on a proposed Senate aid package that would provide $60 billion in funding to the war-torn nation. Yet, former President Donald Trump recently tossed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) a lifeline.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee suggested a strategy in a February 10 Truth Social post that could allow Johnson to extend aid to Ukraine without incurring the wrath of his Freedom Caucus members. Moreover, Trump suggested the US should offer any future aid packages to allies as loans.
He said our country could offer “extraordinarily good terms,” using examples like no interest or specified repayment term. However, he stressed the US should enforce conditions like loyalty and force repayment if the ally becomes financially capable. Trump stated our nation should never again give money away as aid without the expectation of repayment.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) addressed the suggestion on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on March 10. Host Kristen Welker asked Graham about the novel approach to foreign aid. Graham told her he has repeatedly supported Ukraine and hopes to continue doing so.
However, he explained Trump was trying to accomplish two important goals: first, he wanted to “help an ally,” and second, he wanted to put the American people first by asking our allies to repay us if they could. Graham told Welker, “the idea of giving and never being repaid should be off the table.” The senator said Trump suggested making the loan no-interest and forgivable if Ukraine could not repay.
Johnson faces a difficult political position. On Tuesday, March 12, two different representatives, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, filed discharge petitions to force votes on aid packages. Despite Johnson’s stance that he would not pass an aid package in the House until after the administration had implemented border policies to address the immigration crisis, the slim GOP margin in the House and the overwhelming popularity of Ukraine aid could make his position untenable. Trump’s suggestion could offer a way for Johnson to convert the situation into a win.
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