I wonder what kind of financial stake they have in continuing to prop up Ukraine?
McConnell Tells Hegseth America’s Reputation Is at Stake in Ukraine War
Two senior Republican senators sharply criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday over the Trump administration’s handling of Russia in its efforts to end the war in Ukraine, revealing a deepening public split in the party on foreign policy.
Senator Mitch McConnell — one of three Republicans who opposed Mr. Hegseth’s confirmation in January — opened a Senate budget hearing with a blunt critique of President Trump’s approach to Ukraine.
“It seems to me pretty obvious America’s reputation is on the line,” said Mr. McConnell, the former Senate majority leader who leads the Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee. “Will we defend democratic allies against authoritarian aggressors?”
Mr. McConnell, an outspoken hawk on Russia and military issues, has been critical of the Trump administration’s defense spending plan, and countered Mr. Hegseth’s argument that the administration was making the largest investment in the military in 20 years through Mr. Trump’s reconciliation package.
Mr. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said that putting military spending into that package and not increasing spending in the regular budget “may well end up functioning as a shell game to avoid making the most significant annual investments that we spent years urging the Biden administration to make.”
Yeah yeah yeah
The exchange between Mr. McConnell and Mr. Hegseth offered a glimpse into the widening foreign policy gap between the diminishing cohort of internationalists in the Republican Party, like Mr. McConnell, and an emboldened wing led by figures like Mr. Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, who articulate an “America First” view of U.S. involvement around the globe.
“We don’t want a headline at the end of this conflict that says Russia wins and America loses,” Mr. McConnell told the Pentagon chief, chiding him for failing to include additional military assistance for Ukraine in the Pentagon’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
What they never really say, and Lindsay Graham, is how, exactly, Ukraine can win. And how WWIII can be avoided.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, also challenged Mr. Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on whether President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was going to stop at Ukraine, if successful on the battlefield there.
“I don’t believe he is,” General Caine said.
Russia is having a tough time taking Ukraine: how will Putin go after other nations?
Oddly enough, I’m not particularly in favor of nuclear war, either.
It just depends on which Russia the neocons need to keep Project Ukraine afloat.
Heavy drinking TV celebrity Peter “Warfighter!” Hegseth has his ferocious warfighting Marines stringing wire in Texas and guarding a building in Los Angeles.
Mr teach:
Why is one of the world’s remaining ‘superpowers’ having a hard time taking little Ukraine? Hint: USA.
Little putin has made no secret about his desire to have the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) OUT of NATO. Once Mr trump gives putin little Ukraine, what’s to stop him from advancing on the Baltics? And Poland? Putin and the Russian party would love to recapture old glory and reconstitute the Soviet Union. Stupid and naive? Sure, but that’s how tyrants ‘think’.
It’s baffling why the MAGAt movement is so beholden to Russia and putin.
We understand you deceiving yourselves that this is about Ukraine, Hunter, payoffs and other nefarious schemes, but it’s not.
For some reason trump has been reluctant to criticize Russia and putin, and his devotees adopt all his beliefs.
Are you saying at the Ukraine hunter and payoff and all of the other money laundering has gone on over in the Ukraine for the last 10 years is nefarious and not real?’Cause it looks real to us. I guess you spent 10 years watching the fraud and corruption of Biden and his mental degeneration telling us all along that he was just fine, sharp as a tack your ability to know the truth when you see it no longer exists.
Let’s see, right now the Republicans and trump are the only ones on the United states together. It appears that the Democratic Party is trying to gear up another civil war like they did before. They’ve always hated America things aren’t any different in 2025 than they were in 1860. You’re nothing but a traitor amidst a bunch of traitors.
Mr L’Roy,
Yes, I’m saying there is no credible evidence to support these accusations and that it appears that Mr trump has an unnatural alliance with Russia and putin. Further, I’m saying that trump’s unnatural alliance with putin and Russia is suspicious. All the Giuliani and trump campaign BS about Ukraine is to cover up the Russia, Russia, Russia connections.
By all means show the credible evidence about Ukraine. It’s a smokescreen.
Yes, we understand that you DO believe what trump tells you, so it DOES looks real to you. You’re in a cult.
Your calling those that disagree with you “traitors” is typical. Those that tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election were/are traitors. You, trump, the insurrectionists on Jan 6, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Boris Epstein, Jenna Ellis, Ray Smith, Jeffrey Clarke, Kenneth Chesebro, many House GOPhers, some Senate GOPhers… in Arizona: 18 Republicans were charged with forgery, fraud, and conspiracy; Michigan: 16 individuals were charged with election law and forgery felonies for their alleged role in the scheme; Nevada: Six Republicans were indicted for falsely claiming Trump won Nevada’s electoral votes in 2020; Georgia: Cathleen Alston Latham, David Shafer, and Shawn Still, are among those charged with felony offenses alongside Donald Trump in relation to the election.
We understand you wish to flush trump’s crimes down the toilet of time. You are now reaping what you have sown. Thank Allah you have the state of NJ to bail you out.
I actually love America, but hate what trump is doing to it. You love trump but don’t even understand America.
Rimjob drops another pile of horseshit.
L’Roy
The primary difference is that it isn’t slave states vs slaveless states. The division lines today are not geographically based around state boundaries but ideologically. Thus, you can be living next door to your enemies and even have them sleeping under the same roof. It is very different. No same person should be advancing the cause of “justice” if their methodology includes civil war. Similarly, Risking WW3 over a land and people that were never our ally and to whom we owe nothing is beyond foolish. Criminally foolish since it was entirely avoidable if the Obama administration had not overthrown the democratically elected government of Ukraine in 2014 and replaced it with a puppet of the West. Americans have no dog in that fight to defend the financial interests of neocons and establishment Democrats.
Democratic party activists want to make this about Trump because he has been so successful in protecting taxpayers from Democratic party looting from the treasury. But real Americans have seen this struggle coming back when Trump was a still Democrat in good standing and real Americans know this will not be finished at the end of the Trump administration. In 3+ years Trump will be gone but Democrats will still be trying to burn the country to the ground and loot the treasury. Long after Trump is dead (of old age), Americans will still resent being treated like serfs by Democrats who want to live like royalty at their expense. Long after Trump is gone, Democrats will still be trying to use the power of government to force Americans to live At a much lower standard of living.
Mr hale misleads you regarding Ukraine in the 2014 era. Russia called the revolution a U.S. coup. Mr hale recites the putin position. The revolt seen in Ukraine was a response to Prez Yanukovych’s obedience to putin. The Ukrainian Parliament wanted a trade agreement with the EU, but putin and his puppet, Yanukovych said nyet. Russia wanted Ukraine back.
The Ukrainian parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office by 328 to 0. Yanukovych claimed the vote was illegal and asked Russia for help. Russia paid Yanukovych $2 BILLION to support the Russian position! Russia described the events as a “coup”, which it sort of was. The new government worked to oust communists and reduce Russian influence. Russia and their supporters called the overthrow a Jewish coup. Counter protests against the new government were shown to be sponsored by Russia.
Once again, it must be pointed out that a segment of US Republicans were and are beholden to putin. I can’t explain it.
Rimjob: I can’t explain it.
We know.
Teach whines:
Peter Hegseth is an incompetent lackey bowing and scraping to trump. Like trump, he is a TV host.
Anyway, teach is afraid that the failure of the West to allow Putin to annex Ukraine will lead to WWIII. Why do does trump believe that Russia deserves Ukraine? Just because putin wants it?
The objective of the West is to make the invasion and continued war so onerous that putin will have negotiate an end. That is the win. Ukraine will likely be forced to give up some territory.
Russia and putin was the aggressor. They invaded, unprovoked.
Your cult leader suspiciously supports Russia in this and is being hustled by putin. Mr teach follows trump’s beliefs.