Tennessee’s two U.S. senators were among only a handful who voted against a bill that will send nearly $100 billion to foreign nations.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) both voted against the Senate’s version of H.R. 815, a bill that was initially meant to help veterans receive more healthcare reimbursements but quickly ballooned into a funding package mainly for the country of Ukraine.
A total of $60.8 billion taxpayer dollars will be sent to help Ukraine defend its borders, while $26.4 billion will be sent to Israel as it fights a war against Hamas. “Indo-Pacific,” mainly Taiwan will receive $8.1 billion.
The pair voted against a similar bill in February, but Tuesday’s bill was passed 79-18, with three senators opting not to vote.
Blackburn kept her promise not to vote for any funding package that tied aid to Ukraine with aid to Israel.
She and Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) released a statement in October to that effect.
They wrote at the time:
It is critical we give prompt consideration to any request for financial aid or other material support requested by Israel. Based on the breadth of responses from members of Congress, there is a shared urgency to consider such a request
That being said, we know there will no doubt be efforts to attach any funding to Israel to more aid to Ukraine, in excess of the already $113 billion Congress has provided to Ukraine. These are two separate and unrelated conflicts and it would be wrong to leverage support of aid to Israel in attempt to get additional aid for Ukraine across the finish line.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released a statement saying America’s duty was to protect allies.
“Here’s what I know to be true: American prosperity and security are the products of decades of American leadership,” he reportedly said. “Our global interests come with global responsibilities. Healthy alliances lighten the burden of these responsibilities.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) used the bill’s passage to slam Republicans.
“You can get things done and I hope our Republican colleagues have learned that lesson not to listen to the hard right, but to try and work and get things done,” he said.
Continued financial support for Ukraine is deeply unpopular among Republicans. Only 15 percent of Republicans, according to Gallup polling, say the United States is not doing enough to help Ukraine.
Still, only 15 Republican Senators voted against the latest aid package.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
Photo “Bill Hagerty” by Marsha Blackburn. Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
So we have 15 Senators worthy of coming back into the MAGA Congress of 2025. Kinda pitiful but it’s definitely a start….
While I appreciate our US Senators for voting NO to send money to Ukraine, it was a safe vote for them. As for the other Republicans, one has to wonder why or how they could vote for that, & yet leave our Borders wide open. NORTHERN, SOUTHERN, WESTERN, & EASTERN BORDERS, and our Airlines are being Breached each & everyday by illegal aliens. Foreigners who come to America on temporary Visas are staying here illegally, without consequences.
AT THE SAME TIME we are watching the MOST Aggregious Abuses of our Legal system on our former & best President of the United States. Very corrupt Attorney Generals, District Attorneys, AND Judges are using Lawfare, BANANA Republic show trials with ridiculous charges are trying to put their political enemy in Prison for 700 years. Representative Bennie Thompson is introducing legislation to remove Secret Service Protection for President Trump if he is convicted by a very biased jury & Judge, is illegally sentenced to prison. A corrupt & conflicted Judge Merchan in NYC has placed an Unconstitutional GAG ORDER on President Trump so he is unable to campaign.
Yet Congress Members, particularly those who claim to be Trump Supporters are SILENT. THE SILENCE IS DISHEARTENING. while we watch very evil people tear down our Justice System, which is what distinguishes The United States from Totalitarian governments like Cuba & Venezuela, China, Iran & Russia.
It’s terrifying especially while our military is being disgraced & degraded to the point no one wants to volunteer to serve. All this rapid descent info Failure started with the election of Barrack Hussein Obama, whose father was Kenyan, which should have made him ineligible to run for President of the United States. This happened because people who pointed out this fact were demonized by the media as Racist.
Well now the Chickens Have Come Home To Roost.
WE ARE IN A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS WHICH COULD DESTROY OUR REPUBLIC.
Thank God we have a courageous hero, who is willing to make huge personal sacrifices in order to demonstrate to the PEOPLE, how close we are to losing it all.
If Trump is incarcerated by this Kangaroo Court, does anyone think they’ll stop there? If you do, you are delusional. They will come after every Trump Supporting Congress Member. Congress just voted to give our Intel community the ability to spy on Americans. You think they don’t have a file on every Congress Person?
I’d like to see some Tennessee MAGA Congress People head to NYC & stand shoulder to shoulder with the man who is single handedly trying to win against the evil that wants him out of the way, by any means necessary.
Will our Tennessee Delegation take the lead in his support, rather than coming home to fundraise & attend town halls etc so they can get reelected?
I for one would be a proud Tennessean & more likely to forgive those who unfortunately voted on January 6, 2021 to certify Joe Biden as a legitimate POTUS, even though the evidence is abundant that Trump actually won in 2020. If you guys cannot show Trump how much we need him right now, then I will not be able to vote for you in November. BE OUR TENNESSEE HEROES.
#MTV
Clearly Schumer is running the House and Senate