House Intelligence chairman Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that more funding for Ukraine will have “overwhelming support” in Congress.
Partial transcript as follows:
ED O’KEEFE: Thanks for sticking with us. We go now to the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio Congressman Mike Turner, who joins us this morning from Dayton, Ohio. Congressman- Chairman, good morning to you. Our understanding is that Speaker Johnson plans to hold a vote on funding for Ukraine aid when Congress returns a week from tomorrow. Is that still the plan?
TURNER: Well, first off, Happy Easter. I was at Westminster Church in Dayton celebrating with Christians around the world, Christ’s resurrection this morning, I appreciate you having me. And that you’ve included a faith piece in your- in your report today. With respect to Ukraine, I mean, this is one really where I think, you know, the world has seen that this is a war of aggression by Russia, that this is authoritarianism versus democracy. That just the- the brutality that is occurring, the murderous nature of what Russia is doing, has to be responded to, we have to continue our support. The speaker has made it clear that he supports Ukraine both directly to Zelensky. Publicly, he’s made these statements and to the Secretary General of NATO. The speaker has made very clear statements that when we get back, it’s the next top agenda. After having just passed all the bills that fund the federal government, I believe this is going to have overwhelming support in Congress, and we’ll put a bill on the President’s desk.
O’KEEFE: Is it going to have overwhelming support from fellow Republicans? Are you going to have to make tweaks to the legislation that is currently written to either include loans that Ukraine would have to pay back or potentially tuck in something regarding border security to get across the line?
TURNER: Well, I think there- there already is a significant and very strong support among Republicans, and certainly across Americans across the country. Now, as this package moves, certainly there are going to be some discussions, you know, in both the Senate and the House. I’ve had discussions about the border itself. And certainly there have been discussions about the manner in which the non-military, humanitarian aid is structured. But I think overall, we’re going to get a package that is going to be negotiated with the Senate and the and the White House, so that we have a bill that the President can sign.
O’KEEFE: Will whatever gets done pass before Congress takes its next week long break, which is scheduled to begin around April 22?
TURNER: Well it’s certainly my hope. We’re to a- and as President Zelensky has made clear to Speaker Johnson, we are at a critical point. The CIA director and the Secretary of Defense everybody has made it clear that- that we are at a critical juncture on the ground that is beginning to be able to impact not only morale of the Ukrainians that are fighting, but also their ability to fight. Putin knows this. This is obviously an area where we cannot allow Putin to win. Our European allies are saying that Putin’s goal is a war beyond Ukraine with Europe. We need to stop him in Ukraine.
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