On Thursday, a $39.8 billion package of aid for Ukraine was blocked in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
Why did Paul block the bill? Well, here’s what he offered as his explanation:
The senator faced backlash over his opposition but said he stands by his decision. “My oath of office is to the U.S. Constitution, not to any foreign nation,” Paul tweeted Thursday evening, repeating his remarks on the Senate floor. While he said he sympathizes with the Ukrainian people, Paul added that the United States “cannot continue to spend money we don’t have” because doing so is “threatening our own national security.”
The fact that Paul is the only U.S. senator to take such a ridiculous stance at a time when Ukraine is beating back Russian troops led to a deep dive into the video vault and the resurfacing of a clip of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) accusing Paul of “working for Vladimir Putin” in 2017, according to Newsweek:
“So I repeat again – the senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin,” the late senator said in the short video.
In the clip, McCain was discussing NATO membership for the Balkan nation of Montenegro. Paul had blocked a vote to ratify a treaty that would have allowed Montenegro to join the U.S.-led military alliance by refusing to agree to unanimous consent.
That led Paul to fire back at McCain a day later:
“You know, I think he makes a really, really strong case for term limits. I think maybe he’s past his prime; I think maybe he’s gotten a little bit unhinged.”
Five years later, Rand Paul is still Putin’s favorite senator, and his grandstanding could well result in the deaths of more people in the besieged nation of Ukraine. The Kentucky Republican needs to get his head out of his ass and support our Ukrainian allies.