Fox News host Bret Baier spoke out against Senator Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, on Sunday over his vote against additional military aid to Ukraine, asking him to “defend this vote.”
A total of 31 GOP senators voted against the aid, which was accepted as part of the $1.5 trillion comprehensive appropriation package. While many Republicans have said they support sending additional support, they have criticized the lack of time they have been given to consider a massive bill that would fund a number of different government priorities and would instead support a targeted Ukraine bill.
During an interview with Fox News Sunday, Rish said the US should send surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine to help them create their own no-fly zone. Bayer then noted that Risch had just voted against sending military aid to the eastern European country as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to push for his internationally condemned invasion of the neighboring country.
Above, Fox News anchor Bret Baier argues with Republican Senator Jim Rish of Idaho over his vote against aid to Ukraine last week. Sunday Fox News/screenshot
“Senator, you voted against the omnibus, and there is help for Ukraine. That is, you are talking about helping Ukraine, but you voted against it,” the host said. “Defend this vote.”
“If it was just a direct vote, it would be absolutely easy for me,” Rish replied. “I support it 100 percent,” the Idaho Republican continued, noting that he was opposed to “other pork” included in the overall package.
“Whenever we have these damned big bills, you’ll be damned if you do it and damned if you don’t do it when you vote up or down,” he said. “I hope that no one will perceive this as a lack of support for the Ukrainian people.”
In addition to Rish, GOP senators who voted against the bill included: Ted Cruz of Texas, Steve Danes of Montana, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mitt Romney of Utah, Marco Rubio of Florida, Ben Sass of Nebraska, Rick Scott from Florida, Tom Tillis from North Carolina and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania.
“Forcing us to swallow the bad to get the good is unsettling, unsustainable, and unmanageable in the long run. While I strongly support providing desperately needed assistance to Ukrainians, I was ultimately unable to support the rest of this bloated spending bill for the reasons mentioned above,” Romney said in a statement on his vote.
Rubio shared similar thoughts about his opposition to the comprehensive package on Twitter.
“We should have transferred funding to Ukraine two weeks ago,” he tweeted. “But instead, the Democrats took him hostage so he could ram through thousands of targets, new green deal programs, hiring 10,000 IRS agents, and other awakening priorities buried in thousands of pages. It’s a ridiculous process.”
Of the $13.6 billion eventually approved for Ukraine, more than $6.5 billion will go to the Pentagon for dispersal. Another $3.9 billion will go to the State Department to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians, and another $2.8 billion to the US Agency for International Development, which also provides support.