Russia's Republicans

February 29, 2024

There’s little question that the Republican Party has become Vladimir Putin’s biggest political ally in his war against Ukraine. Some of them sabotage or oppose military aid simply to spite President Joe Biden. Some may possibly be on Putin’s payroll. Others are isolationist, fiscally conservative, or preoccupied with fighting China. But the lead saboteur is tainted — newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson. He and his Republican caucus defeated the $95-billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine and Israel that had been passed by the Senate, then a 2018 news story re-emerged that Johnson had received campaign funds from Russians who funneled money to him and other Louisiana Republicans through a Texas-based petroleum company they controlled. After this was discovered in 2018, Johnson’s campaign immediately returned the funds and the donors’ wrists were merely slapped by electoral officials despite the seriousness of the breach. This is pertinent, given Johnson’s role in blocking aid to Ukraine. It’s also noteworthy that one of his guilty foreign donors was Konstantin Nikolaev, a ranking member of Putin’s inner circle of oligarchs whose companies are the biggest supplier of arms and ammo to the Russian army. And while no direct links to Johnson have been proven, the odor exists. As former US Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, observed recently that “blocking aid to Ukraine is giving aid to Putin”.