WH Reads House Republicans the Riot Act for Being on Vacation As They Harm National Security

Deputy Press Secretary and Senior Communications Adviser Andrew Bates read House Republicans the riot act for being on their 6th day of vacation while harming national security, saying the damage from their two-week vacation mounts by the day.

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Yesterday, President Biden’s National Security Advisor warned that aid to Ukraine is necessary to protect our national security. He also listed off the ways this aid actually helps the United States in both jobs and renewing our own weapon stockpiles, but apparently that isn’t good enough for Speaker Johnson, even after his own members got busted for laundering Kremlin disinformation about President Biden .

Bates offered up a “reading list for Speaker Johnson’s 6th day of vacationing while harming American national security,” writing in a statement sent to PoliticusUSA, “The damage House Republicans are actively causing to American national security mounts every day that they insist on continuing their two-week vacation.”

Before we get to the next part, it’s worth remembering that in 2018, a group of Russian nationals donated to Mike Johnson’s campaign by funneling money through a Texas-based company called American Ethane.

“Even though the Senate passed critically-needed national security priorities with overwhelmingly bipartisan support – and even though members of Speaker Johnson’s own conference have been explicit that the same legislation would also pass the House – Speaker Johnson has shown no signs of canceling Republicans’ vacation as he puts his own internal politics above the safety of the American people,” Bates noted.

If the urgency is sounding alarmist, we should recall that just days ago it was revealed that Russia “is developing a space-based anti-satellite nuclear weapon whose detonation could disrupt everything from military communications to phone-based ride services,” a source told Reuters. The source “said it was his understanding the system would involve a nuclear explosive device placed into orbit.”

Meanwhile, Johnson has the House on a two-week vacation because “working” for their taxpayer handouts is apparently not on order.

“Speaker Johnson is undermining Ukraine’s defenses as innocent civilians are murdered by Putin and his Iranian allies, endangering NATO countries the United State is obligated to defend, threatening industrial jobs across our country, setting America back in the Indo-Pacific, and denying military assistance to Israel as well as humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinians,” Bates continued.

Then Bates hammered on Johnson for killing the border deal that Johnson said needed to be attached to the aid bill, so Democrats attached it, and then Johnson ran away again, with no reasonable explanation.

What’s more, Speaker Johnson also killed the toughest, strongest border security legislation in decades, siding with fentanyl-traffickers over the Border Patrol Union as soon as Donald Trump sounded alarms that the bipartisan deal would hurt his political interests by helping families.

“If House Republicans are committed to their vacation the least they can do is read about the harm they are causing as they undermine American national security,” Bates finished, before listing off the suggested reading.

“House Republicans’ failure to act contributed to Ukraine need to retreat from the town of Avdiivka, and Russia’s most significant battlefield gains in 9 months,” Bates wrote, above a Fox article about just that.

Fox News, “The withdrawal, announced as Ukraine faces acute shortages of ammunition with U.S. military aid delayed for months in Congress, aimed to save troops from being fully surrounded by Russian forces after months of fierce fighting, Kyiv said.”

“House Republicans are also threatening manufacturing jobs in America’s heartland,” Bates wrote above an AP article, “As President Joe Biden pushes House Republicans to pass needed aid, he wants voters to understand that nearly two-thirds — or nearly $40 billion — of the money for Ukraine would actually go to U.S. factories spread out across the country including plants in Lima, Ohio and Scranton, Pennsylvania as well as Mesquite.”

Then Bates goes in for Republicans’ supposed care for children, citing the BBC, “While House Republicans purport to care about cracking down on the abuse of children, they are turning a blind eye as Russia has kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children.”

Bates goes softly on Johnson’s repeated betrayals of deals/offers he made with Democrats on national security, citing a Washington Post article, “Claiming he supports Ukraine and border security but constantly finding excuses to accomplish the opposite, Speaker Johnson is cementing a legacy of false promises and unreliability.”

Bates points out an Axios piece about Republicans knowing that the special election in New York shows that Americans are furious, “The decisive results of New York’s special election last week, in which House Republicans’ blocking of bipartisan border security legislation was a top issue, shows the American people are infuriated.”

Bates ended this public scolding with an ask that the Speaker actually, finally, maybe read the bill, “Finally, Speaker Johnson should *actually* read the bipartisan border security legislation that is endorsed by the Border Patrol Union and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because it would make America safer and secure our border.”

There are no lies detected in Bates’ comments. If anything, he is being understated while trying to prod these “lawmakers” into doing the bare minimum of their jobs that you pay them to do.

U.S. national security is literally being undermined and even endangered by the Republican-led House. That they feel emboldened to continue doing so in a way that favors Putin even after being caught laundering Kremlin disinformation through the U.S. Congress says a lot about their confidence that the media won’t hold them accountable.

Sarah Jones

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