Free Republic

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that military aid to Ukraine was not charity, adding that it created jobs in the United States. Host Kristen Welker said, “I want to ask you about your legacy. You said just this week that you often feel like the only Reagan Republican left. As you prepare to step down from your leadership position this year, what are your greatest concerns about the future of the Republican Party?”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reportedly said the House of Representatives would cobble together a Ukraine aid bill while speaking with Republican senators on Wednesday during a retreat on Capitol Hill. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reported on the conversations that occurred at the Library of Congress during the annual Republican Senate retreat and emphasized the speaker “cautioned that what comes out of the House will look substantially different than the $95 billion foreign aid package the Senate passed last month.” Per Bolton, Johnson suggested a lend-and-lease program during the meeting but did not mention whether border security measures would be...

The European Commission will propose on Tuesday ways for the European Union to boost its arms industry so it can shift to “war economy mode” in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thierry Breton, the European industry commissioner, will lay out proposals to encourage EU countries to buy more weapons together from European companies, and to help such firms increase production capacity, according to EU officials. “We need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode. This also means that the European defense industry must take more risks, with our support,” said Breton, previewing the package. Breton, a...

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) wanted to talk about Ukraine and the need to stand up to Russian aggression before taking any questions from The Hill during a Wednesday interview. The veteran Senate GOP leader, a day removed from what he saw as a significant victory in the Senate’s passage of aid to Ukraine and Israel, said showing resolve to deter foreign aggression is the “single biggest issue we’ve had in a long, long time.” The Senate bill, approved Tuesday in a 70-29 vote, faces an uncertain future in the House after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) issued a scathing...

After Wednesday’s meeting at the White House with President Biden and 20 congressional leaders, McConnell declared that he was done trying to placate Ukraine skeptics in Johnson’s conference. There’s roughly $110 billion on the table that would bolster Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s defense against Russia, along with helping Israel and Taiwan, and provide billions of dollars to shore up the U.S. border along Mexico.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Congress on Tuesday during a private briefing that if they do not pass more aid to Ukraine, it would “very likely” lead to U.S. troops fighting a war in Europe.

There has never been a finer person in American politics than former Vice President Mike Pence. He represents the best of conservatism and humanity. His voice will be important for years to come in the Republican party and advancing conservative principles and a strong America. God bless Mike and Karen Pence.Oct 28, 2023

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) is criticizing newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for comments suggesting Johnson could support additional U.S. support for Ukraine.“To his great credit, the new Speaker has been a stalwart on the Ukraine issue — voting consistently against an endless conflict with no plan from the Biden administration,” Vance said on X, formerly Twitter. “It’s concerning to see him change his tune so quickly after being elevated to this role.”Vance’s comments come after Johnson, in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, stopped well short of ruling out additional support for Ukraine.Johnson, who has voted against...

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday urged his Senate colleagues to move quickly on legislation to send military aid to Israel and Ukraine and to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific, warning of “an increasingly coordinated challenge from powerful adversaries.” McConnell said the Senate would review the $100 billion emergency spending request Biden sent to Congress Friday and craft its own package “in the coming days.” ... The Senate GOP leader will make a rare appearance on “Fox News Sunday” and CBS’s “Face the Nation” this weekend to discuss why the United States must stand firmly with Israel...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday he expects Ukraine aid will not be separated from border funding as Congress tried to figure out a path forward after a shutdown bill left Ukraine out. “To those who say we need to fix our border, you’re right,” Graham said on CBS News’s “Face The Nation.” “To those who say we need to help Ukraine, you’re right. To those who say we need to do the border, not Ukraine, you’re wrong.”

Former Vice President Pence, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, said Sunday President Biden has done a “terrible job” explaining America’s interest in Ukraine.“I know he said we’re there as long as it takes, but, frankly, it shouldn’t take that long,” Pence told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “This administration has been, not surprisingly, dragging their feet on providing military support from early on. They cut off the military aid that we had been providing to Ukraine under the Trump/Pence administration in the early going.”Biden said earlier this month that the United States would “not waver,” on support...

The military contractor known as “Fat Leonard,” the mastermind behind the worst public corruption scandal in U.S. Navy history who was three weeks away from being sentenced in the case, is on the run. Leonard Glenn Francis, who has been under house arrest, cut off his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet and absconded from his San Diego home sometime Sunday morning, said Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo. Pretrial Services, the federal agency monitoring Francis, was alerted to an anomaly with Francis’ bracelet, and Francis’ defense team went to check on him, knowing he has a history of health issues. An...

NEW ORLEANS - Twenty-nine illegal immigrants who were working or trying to get a job at Northrop Grumman Corporation's shipyard in Avondale have been arrested as part of a criminal investigation that began earlier this year.The charges made against them include using fraudulent documents and making false statements to gain employment, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and illegally re-entering the country after being deported.Most of the illegals are from Mexico.An investigation into subcontractors operating at the shipyard is being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement - the investigative arm of the Homeland Security Department - and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service...