Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), 60, said on X (formerly Twitter), that he would not sign onto Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) stopgap spending bill to prevent a government shutdown unless he removed all $6 billion in Ukraine War funding. White House officials haven’t yet called Paul a right wing extremist for opposing the billions in U.S. tax dollars spent funding the Ukraine government. White House officials, led by 80-year-old President Joe Biden, 60-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken and 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, refuse to tell the American public that U.S. taxpayers pay to fund the bankrupt Ukraine government and war with the Kremlin. Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky pretends that he operates a solvent government when, in fact, the U.S. funds his salary and that of all of the Kiev’s officials and civil servants.
Paul said he would only allow a vote on Schumer’s stopgap bill if he removed $6 billion in Ukraine funding. “To avoid a government shutdown, I will consent to an expedited vote on a clean CR [Continuing Resolution] without Ukraine aid on it. If leadership insists on funding another country’s government at the expense of our own government, all blame rests with their intransigence,” Trump wrote on Twitter. Paul is the first-and-only U.S. senator to take a stand on ongoing Ukraine war spending. Biden takes for granted that he can continue funding his proxy war with the Kremlin without leveling with the American public that he’s funding the Ukraine government. Paul serves notice to Biden and Schumer that he won’t sign onto any stopgap bill unless Ukraine War spending is removed. White House and House Democrats think it’s radical to oppose Ukraine funding.
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he has no problem with the 2024 budget bill that includes Ukraine funding. “I’m comfortable wit the way we put together the Senate bill,” McConnell said, showing that a majority of Senate Republicans back Biden’s Ukraine funding. Schumer and McConnell have showed no willingness to modify Ukraine’s funding, something insisted by the White House. Paul is no doubt in the Senate minority when it comes to funding the Ukraine government and war. Paul wants the public to know that he opposes funding the war, but more importantly, the Ukrainian government. White House and Congress are ready to shut down the U.S. government over spending priorities but not willing to discuss-and-negotiate a way forward until the government has been shutdown. Back in 2018-2019 it took 35 days before the government reopened.
Playing a dangerous game of chicken at the expense of federal workers and essential programs, including Social Security and Medicare, elected officials have failed to do their jobs, with the White House and House and Senate Democrats refusing to discuss-or-negotiate with House and Senate Republicans. What gives the White House the right to dictate a budget when House Democrats and Republicans control the purse strings under Article 1? White House officials have insisted that the Ukraine War is a top budget priority because it protects European democracy. But elected officials all know that NATO, not bankrupt and war-torn Ukraine, defends European democracy since 1949. Biden and Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky told the U.S. Congress that without Ukraine battling the Kremlin, 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin would take over Europe.
Biden and Zelensky know that NATO’s the responsible for defending European democracy. Before the Ukraine War started Feb. 24, 2022, Zelensky asked 64-year-old NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for fast-track membership. Zelensky antagonized Putin for months begging Stoltenberg for membership. All Stoltenberg said was that sometime in a murky future Ukraine would be considered for NATO membership. Zelensky and Biden can’t fathom that NATO doesn’t want to fight Ukraine’s battle with the Kremlin. NATO membership would force the alliance to defend Ukraine under Article 5. No one in NATO wants to go to war against the Kremlin but that’s precisely what Zelensky wants. Zelensky claims that WW III has already begun in Ukraine, expecting the U.S. and NATO to commit to a no-fly zone and the most advanced weapons, including training on F-16 fighter jets.
Sen. Rand Paul stated for the record that with all the problems faced in the United States, the U.S. Treasury can’t afford to subsidize another government indefinitely. Neither Biden nor Zelensky can give any realistic estimate when the war would end. Zeloensky has told the U.S. Congress and European parliament that if Ukraine loses to Russia, WW III would likely follow. Zelensky has been shifting excuses to continue receiving billions in U.S. funding, paying his salary, all of Kiev’s leadership and all civil servants. Beyond the exorbitant cash outlays, the real danger with continuing the proxy war against the Kremlin is starting WW II or nuclear war. Paul has little support in the Senate for de-funding the Ukraine War. Biden and House and Senate Democrats see Ukraine funding as more important than having a 2024 budget to prevent a costly and dangerous government shutdown.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
