9 months ago
Democratic lawmakers are renewing their calls for sending a foreign aid package to Ukraine after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison on Friday.
“House members blocking critical aid to Ukraine can revel in another high-five for Putin who just murdered his most vocal and visible critic,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said in a post on X.
Navalny died in prison on Friday at the age of 47, according to the federal prison service. For years, Navalny has been the most prominent opposition figure in Russia and was seen as the only person still capable of mobilizing Russians to participate in organized protests against the Kremlin.
Navalny’s death comes after the Senate cleared a $95 billion international assistance bill on Tuesday that includes aid to Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed the Senate version of the package won’t see a vote in the lower chamber and instead will have the House “work its own will.”
Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.) said Navalny’s death “underscores the brutal authoritarian rule of Putin.”
“The death of @navalny is tragic. It underscores the brutal authoritarian rule of Putin and what’s at stake as the Speaker of the House refuses to put the Ukraine funding package on the floor bending to extremist House members and Donald Trump,” Keating said in a post on X.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “mass murdering war criminal” and said that former President Donald Trump “has openly encouraged Putin to attack America’s allies and republicans are blocking aid to Ukraine.”
“Putin murders Navalny the same week Donald Trump invites Russia to invade Europe and MAGA Mike Johnson blocks aid to Ukraine,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) said in a post on X. “This isn’t a coincidence, it’s the green light Putin has been given.”
Republican lawmakers also reacted to the death of Navalny on social media while lambasting Putin, but stopped short of mentioning Ukraine aid.
“Putin is a murderous, paranoid dictator,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said on X. “History will not be kind to those in America who make apologies for Putin and praise Russian autocracy. Nor will history be kind to America’s leaders who stay silent because they fear backlash from online pundits.”
“If confirmed, the death of Alexei Navalny is a tragedy,” Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “He is a voice for a better Russia amid the corruption and brutality of Putin’s genocidal regime. The Kremlin must be held accountable for this outrage.”
Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.
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