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Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance slammed GOP leadership Monday on social media, claiming that through foreign aid deals, there is an alleged bipartisan step to “control” aspects of a possible second Trump term.
Vance posted on X Monday morning to release an op-ed that claimed the “obsession” with funding the Ukraine war is “an effort within the GOP establishment,” either internally or not, to stop presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump from potentially winning in 2024.
“The basic form this takes is simple: Republican leadership, desperate for Ukraine money, put their own members and Republican House members in a political bind. Rather than accept responsibility, they blame, you guessed it, Donald Trump,” Vance stated.
Since late last year, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to grant additional foreign aid unless southern border security reforms are addressed in the bill.
For months, Senate lawmakers have worked on a bipartisan deal tying foreign aid with the border crisis; however, before the long-awaited text release in early February, reports circulated that some GOP lawmakers became weary of legal loopholes the bill may have.
The released text on Feb. 4 revealed a $118 billion package, wanting to give roughly $60 billion to Ukraine aid in helping their fight against Russia, making it the dominating price within the deal, according to Reuters. Shortly after the bill’s text release, Republicans took to social media to slam the deal, with Trump calling it a “very bad” bill that he wouldn’t support.
As House GOP members warned Senate lawmakers that the bill would be dead on arrival if it passed through to the floor, Senate Republicans swiftly blocked it.
Vance claimed that following the release of the bill’s text, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell had left a Republican meeting regarding the deal and “praised the bill but criticized the changing political dynamics,” blaming Donald Trump and the House of Representatives.
However, Vance claims that the criticism was not a “one-off thing.” The Ohio senator continued to state that Trump and “MAGA Republicans” are a consistent fallback for GOP leadership, alleging that they will make it politically “harder for Trump to get elected.”
“This is not a one-off thing. Every time their Ukraine-first plan hits a road bump, they will blame Trump and “MAGA Republicans.”
“They will create a narrative of chaos and extremism to undermine the nominee of their party. Politically, they will make it harder for Trump to get elected. This is the first part of the plot,” Vance stated.
The senator also stated that within a new Ukraine aid bill, lawmakers are allegedly attempting to make it “illegal for Trump to do what he is promising on the campaign trail.”
Vance noted that he has sent a memo to every Republican colleague in Congress highlighting the “impeachment time bomb for the next Trump presidency if he tries to stop funding the war in Ukraine.”
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