Conventional wisdom holds that voters tend to forget about foreign-policy issues once they enter the ballot box, but 2024 has not been a conventional year on the world stage: With the war in Ukraine about to enter a third spring fighting season, long-simmering GOP divisions over America's role in the conflict have moved firmly into the spotlight.
When Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), a centrist, talks to his constituents about supporting Ukraine amid Russia's unprovoked invasion, he characterizes his position as a moral imperative.
"We understand the consequences of Ukraine falling to Russia. That's not an option," he told National Review in the Speaker's lobby of the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon. "We have to support them."
But for isolationist-leaning representatives like Lauren Boebert (R., Colo.), conversations with constituents look wildly different. "Not another dollar to Ukraine. We have an invasion at our southern border and I don't give a rip about sending more money to Ukraine right now," the congresswoman told NR on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon.
Intra-party divisions about the direction of Republican foreign policy have hit another breaking point this week as House Speaker Mike Johnson struggles to push billions in foreign aid through the lower chamber in the face of sharp opposition from within his ranks, raising questions about the trajectory of Republican foreign policy on the hill and the campaign trail as both wings of the GOP continue to dig in their heels.
After huddling with an ideologically diverse group of House Republicans on the hill Tuesday evening, Johnson announced Wednesday that he will push ahead with a high-wire act on foreign aid: scheduling votes on three separate bills on Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Biden released a statement a short time later endorsing Johnson's aid package, likely only further imperiling the speaker's political capital among his right flank . . .
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