Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said Sunday that Russian propaganda was infiltrating his Republican colleagues and “is being voiced on the floor of the House of Representatives.”
The Ohio Republican doubled down on State Department Chairman Michael McCaul’s claim to Puck News last week: “Russian propaganda has unfortunately found its way into the United States and has infected much of my party’s base.”
“It’s absolutely true,” Turner said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“We see attempts coming directly from Russia to mask communications that are anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian messages, some of which we even hear in the House of Representatives.”
“To the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it becomes harder for us to really see this as a battle between authoritarians and democracy,” he added.
Support for more funding for Ukraine has waned among the House Republican Conference as the conflict in the east enters its third year. Speaker Mike Johnson is said to be planning to include aid to Ukraine in some form after Congress’ Easter recess.
Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said Sunday that Russian propaganda was infiltrating his Republican colleagues and “is being voiced on the floor of the House of Representatives.”
The Ohio Republican doubled down on State Department Chairman Michael McCaul’s claim to Puck News last week: “Russian propaganda has unfortunately found its way into the United States and has infected much of my party’s base.”
After the Senate passed a national security supplement with $60 billion in aid to Ukraine in February, funding for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific has languished in the House.
In a statement on Thursday, Johnson suggested he would attach border provisions to any foreign aid package.
“As I have always said, national security begins at our southern border. Any funding for the President’s additional request must be based on meaningful policies to help the American people and ultimately address the invasion at our southern border.”
The House of Representatives is expected to take up an additional financing package with foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific in the weeks after the Easter recess.
But the details of the package remain unclear. It is expected to include some provisions from HR 2, the House Republican border package.
People sit in front of a house hit by recent shelling, what local officials called a Ukrainian military attack, in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on April 7, 2024.
Some policymakers have pushed for Russian assets to be seized, rather than just frozen, and repurposed for Ukraine under the REPO law. But the process would be difficult and has essentially never been done before.
The US, the European Union, the G-7 and Australia have frozen about $280 billion in Russian Central Bank assets, much of it in the form of securities and cash. Sanctions on Russian nationals have frozen another $58 billion in assets, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
The US, UK and Canada are all in favor of seizing the assets. But France, Germany and the European Central Bank have expressed concern about possible Russian retaliation and a precedent it would set for international law.
In this photo taken from a video and released by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday, April 4, 2024, a Russian tank fires at a secret location in Ukraine
Others have suggested that support for Ukraine will likely include a Lend-Lease provision. Providing defense equipment under the Lend-Lease Act means that it is intended to be returned if it is not destroyed in the war. Funds could also be loaned to Ukraine with the promise that they would be repaid in the long term.
Meanwhile, Johnson previously proposed lifting the ban on liquefied natural gas exports after Biden said in January he would pause application approvals to analyze the economic and environmental impact. It is not clear whether the White House agrees.
Johnson would likely need significant Democratic support to pass the legislation, as many of his Republicans remain staunchly opposed to further financing of Ukraine.
Democrats largely support funding Ukraine’s war against Russia, but some progressives might turn up their noses at a package that includes money for Israel, which they say has not paid enough attention to Palestinian civilian lives in its mission to root out Hamas. The recent murder of an American aid worker could further entrench their opposition.
Last month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., launched an effort to oust Mike Johnson from the speakership. She did not force an immediate vote, but as a staunch opponent of aid to Ukraine, placing a national security addition in the House of Representatives would further jeopardize Johnson’s job.
Turner said Sunday he doesn’t believe Johnson is at “any risk” of being booted by the “chaos caucus,” referring to members “who are seeking attention for themselves and trying to shut down all the important work in Congress.”