The DC Corruption Sooper Thread

US Senate Approves $95 Billion Foreign Aid Funding For Ukraine & Israel

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he US Senate approved a $95 billion foreign aid package for both Ukraine and Israel, days after it was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Members of the Senate voted 79-18 to approve the foreign aid package, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk.

The foreign aid package primarily consists of $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, roughly $26 billion in military aid for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian efforts in Gaza, and roughly $8 billion in foreign aid for Taiwan and efforts to counter China’s threat in the Indo-Pacific.

Also included in the bill is wording advising the Chinese owner of TikTok to either sell the app or have it banned in the United States, according to CNN.

President Joe Biden has indicated that he “strongly” supports the foreign aid package proposed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA).

During a closed House Republican Conference on April 15, Johnson proposed an idea to pass four bills under the guise of one, including sending more foreign aid to Ukraine.

Under Johnson’s plan, all four bills were wrapped into one legislation package that the House would then vote on, unlocking separate votes for each of the other bills.

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In response to the Senate passing the $95 billion foreign aid package, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stressed the importance of “alliances” with other countries:

“It’s time to re-affirm some basic truths: That alliances matter. That foreign nations’ respect for American interests depends on our willingness to defend them. And that peace, prosperity, and security are not accidents – They’re products of American leadership, and American sacrifice.” ✪

Paul Ryan Praises Speaker Johnson For Allowing Democrats To Seize Control Of The House 

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aul Ryan, a member of the Fox Corporation Board of Directors, praised House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for permitting Democrats to seize control of the House last week.

Democrats steamrolled Johnson by successfully pushing Biden administration’s agenda through the House. Johnson gave Biden “pretty much everything” Biden asked for “without having to concede much in return,” Punchbowl reported.

The Democrat victory was a reminder of how some Republicans often decline to use their capacity to push conservative policies popular with the base. Democrats often appear to use their power without qualms.

Johnson “found his footing, and his voice. … [H]e did it as a statesman, risking his own personal political fortune for the greater good that he believesin,” Ryan told Axios Tuesday.

The former House Speaker’s opinion appears to represent the mainstream establishment opinion of Johnson’s historic maneuver, but it does not represent many conservatives.

“A party unable to bring its agenda to the floor for a vote is no longer a functional majority,” Brendan Buck, a top staffer to Ryan, recently wrote in a New York Times op-ed.

Ryan’s comment comes as he holds significant influence within the Fox Corporation Board of Directors. Ryan, a board member since March 2019, serves as the chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee at the Fox Corporation.

His authority includes establishing “broad corporate policies,” setting “strategic direction,” and overseeing “management identification and management of risks,” according to Fox Corporation.

Ryan’s position raises questions about why his opinions are not disclosed to viewers during Fox News and Fox Business media coverage. ✪

Complete Betrayal: Mike Johnson Passes $61 Billion Ukraine Aid & Violates Hastert Rule Again

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peaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) delivered President Joe Biden a $61 billion gift on Saturday afternoon, reversing his months-long pledge to never advance foreign aid without first securing America’s border.

Multiple Democrats — and possibly a few Republicans — cheered; shouted, “Ukraine;” and waived Ukrainian flags as the Ukraine aid vote closed. “It is in violation of decorum to waive flags on the floor,” Johnson scolded Democrats.

The Ukraine portion of the foreign aid passed 311 to 112. One representative, Republican Dan Mauser (R-PA), voted present.

Johnson, once again, violated the Hastert Rule. Only 101 Republicans voted with Johnson, while 112 — a clear majority — opposed.

Republican House members circulated a document outlining a timeline of Johnson’s repeated insistence that the House would not advance a foreign aid package before securing America’s southern border.

Johnson had begun publicly wavering in early March after a February 28 meeting at the White House. His reversal follows months of grooming by both the White House and establishment Republicans.

“We’ve been working with him for months to try to get him there,” one anonymous lawmaker told Politico, which said Johnson’s Ukraine bill would “grant Biden a major foreign policy victory that has eluded him for a year.”

The White House and intelligence state reeducation of Mike Johnson began before his seat warmed. According to Politico:

“The administration held several closed-door briefings for Johnson and other lawmakers to update them on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, starting just days after Johnson became speaker.”

Officials involved in those briefings included CIA Director William Burns and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The Ukraine bill will be bundled into a larger foreign aid package that does not include border security.

Johnson held a vote on a border security bill earlier in the day, but Johnson moved that bill under suspension of the rules, which meant it required two-thirds support to pass.

It received 215 votes to 199 in opposition and, therefore, failed. The Senate passed the aid bill on Tuesday with a vote of 78-18. ✪

Joe Biden Is The Big ‘Winner’ of The 118th Congress After Steamrolling Speaker Johnson 

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resident Joe Biden, 81, is the “winner” of the 118th Congress after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) bent the knee to Biden and many of his 2024 priorities, accord biging to Punchbowl News, an establishment media organization that covers Congress.

Biden’s steamroll of Johnson is a sore reminder of how Republicans often decline to use their capacity to push conservative policies popular with the base, perhaps fearing reelection. Democrats, in contrast, often appear to use their power without qualms.

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Johnson’s stint as Speaker illustrates why many conservatives remain frustrated with the Republican Party. Instead of using his leverage to secure the southern border, impeach Biden, cut runaway spending, or “shake up Washington,” Johnson gave Biden “pretty much everything” Biden asked for “without having to concede much in return.” 

The policies Biden can tout heading into the November election due to Johnson’s leadership include:

• Reauthorizing FISA
• Subsidizing Ukraine war
• Avoiding impeachment
• Keeping spending levels in place
• Losing control of GOP House

Biden’s recent success is a positive sign for the embattled president, who suffers from historically low polling, age concerns, Democrat opposition over the Israel/Hamas War and poor enthusiasm.

Only about 40 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job performance, well below the 50 percent threshold that incumbents historically need to win reelection. One in five Democrats disapprove of Biden’s job performance, a previous Harvard/Harris survey found.

A strong majority of voters believe Biden’s America is on the wrong track, as more voters (nine points) look more fondly on former President Trump’s presidency, a New York Times/Siena poll found last week. Forty-two percent said Trump’s tenure was “mostly good for America,” compared to only 25 percent for Biden. ✪

Trump Attorney Alina Habba: Criminal & Civil Courts Are Being Used Against Trump Because ‘They Cannot Beat Him In The Polls’

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lina Habba, lawyer and spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, accused Democrats of going after the Republican presidential nominee in court because they cannot beat him in the polls.

“The fact that we have two courts, not one — criminal and civil — being used against one man because they cannot beat him in the polls is a disgrace to the American judicial system,” she said in remarks at the New York State Supreme Court Building in Manhattan after opening arguments in the hush money case.

“You should not have two teams of lawyers here today. You should not even be here today, because he did nothing wrong. It is the epitome of a witch hunt,” she told reporters.

Habba said she had just come from a different court where Trump has been accused of inflating the value of his assets to receive favorable loans he has since paid back. He was at first ordered to post a $454 million bond before he could appeal, but an appellate court ruled he would only have to post $175 million. New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Monday accepted that bond, which will prevent Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James from seizing his assets as he appeals the case.

Habba accused Engoron of not understanding “basic principles of financing” and said he and James “had no idea what they were talking about.”

She called the hush money case — in which Bragg is accusing Trump of falsifying business records — a “joke” and “an affront” to the judicial system. She said:

“I am sick of coming in front of the press and saying this, but you have to because you people need to understand what is going on. God forbid you put an accounting thing in for ‘legal counsel.’ … Because they’re afraid of 2024. And you know what? They should be because the American people are not stupid. They see what’s going on.” ✪

Speaker Johnson Allies Himself With GOP-Hating Republicans & Democrats

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peaker of the House Mike Johnson will travel to Texas this week, not to make another performative visit to the border he abandoned when he banded with Democrats to pass $95 billion in foreign spending, but to aid a fundraiser for his “endangered” GOP colleague who smeared Republicans opposed to the Ukraine package.

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who voted with Johnson last weekend to pass another blank check for Kyiv, pledged on CNN’s Sunday “State of the Union” program that Johnson will keep his speakership despite conservative-led threats of ousting.

In return, Johnson will overlook Gonzales’ egregious maligning of conservatives while wining and dining voters in the San Antonio area into throwing more money at the establishment Republican’s reelection campaign.

“I served 20 years in the military. It’s my absolute honor to be in Congress, but I serve with some real scumbags,” Gonzales told CNN, naming Republican Reps. Matt Gatez and Bob Good, two opponents of sending American tax dollars to secure overseas borders before our own.

Gaetz, Gonzales falsely claimed, “paid minors to have sex with him at drug parties.” His amplification of the fallacious allegation was so bad that even CNN Host Dana Bash had to remind him that the Justice Department officially declined to charge Gaetz over the accusation last year.

The Texas politician also suggested that “Bob Good endorsed my opponent, a known neo-Nazi,” a smear that Gonzales’ primary challenger Brandon Herrera rejected.

“These people used to walk around with white hoods at night. Now they’re walking around with white hoods in the daytime,” Gonzales concluded.

Gonzales’ comments sparked backlash from several House conservatives who noted the San Antonio native is “a complete and total Rhino [sic].”

Even before he disparaged the representatives to a corporate media audience, Gonzales was a wolf in GOP elephant’s clothing. In March, he faced an overwhelming censure from the Republican Party of Texas for voting with Democrats on their 2022 gun-control wish list, the codification of same-sex marriage, and opposing federal and state-led border security measures.

“More than a dozen county GOP clubs in Gonzales’ district had already approved local censure resolutions,” the Associated Press noted.

But not even Gonzales’ perilous track record seems to deter Johnson from openly allying with a representative who fell out of favor with his voters, party, and conservative colleagues in Congress.

Unfortunately for them, however, Johnson’s good graces aren’t limited to establishment pawns like Gonzales who promise to keep him in power. Appealing to Democrats in Congress and even the White House seems to be Johnson’s new gig.

A profile of Johnson written by RealClearPolitics’ Philip Wegmann details how the Louisiana native “felt he owed Biden an apology” after the new speaker was briefly caught on camera scoffing at the president’s 2024 State of the Union address.

The opportunity for expressing regret presented itself at the Friends of Ireland luncheon in March. After publicly praising Biden as “America’s most famous Irishman,” Johnson took the president aside to “apologize for the eye-roll memes that went around the world.”

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According to Wegmann, “The president laughed, then told the speaker he was glad Johnson was better behaved than Nancy Pelosi had been during the speeches of his predecessor: ‘I’m just grateful you didn’t rip my speech up.’”

Johnson’s public support for Gonzales and needless apology to the man who has shown no remorse for the chaos and destruction his regime has caused Americans further demonstrate the speaker’s true colors.

Johnson is not concerned with doing what’s best for his voters or his party. He’s concerned about staying in power by whatever means necessary. ✪

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