In an explosive interview with “Breitbart News Saturday,” Ohio entrepreneur and Senate Republican candidate Bernie Moreno revealed the dirty secret behind President Joe Biden’s request for $40 billion in emergency funding.
Moreno explained clearly how tying the American disaster relief to further funding for Ukraine is a shining example of the workings of the D.C. “Uniparty.”
Biden’s request targeted $24 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine and another $12 billion to replenish the federal disaster relief fund. Another $4 billion is earmarked for federal efforts at the southern border.
Sen. Marco Rubio accused President Joe Biden of holding Americans hostage by tying emergency funding for the Federal Emergency Management Association to more financial aid to Ukraine. https://t.co/WP3Z6S1KRy pic.twitter.com/g9ZB4TQheJ
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 12, 2023
Moreno described this effort as the worst actions of the two parties to appease one another. And while he said is “very empathetic” with the Ukrainian people, “I’m dramatically more concerned about the people in America.”
Tying the votes together, he explained, simply gives both parties cover. That way, Moreno said, “we can say, ‘I voted for disaster relief for Maui and East Palestine.’”
The candidate is not the only Republican to disparage the sleight of hand exercised by political leaders of both parties.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) blasted the Biden White House for holding disaster relief funding over Americans’ heads by tying it to yet more aid for Ukraine. The timing could not be more convenient for the administration.
With the deadly Hawaii fires and the recent toxic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, voting no to the emergency request due to opposition to further war funding would be an issue for many lawmakers.
At a Thursday news conference, Rubio chastised the president for linking two unrelated causes. “President Biden is holding Floridians, and other Americans, hostage by tying critical domestic disaster relief to foreign military aid.”
Sen. J.D. Vance concurred that tying disaster relief to another Ukraine package is wrong.
In a Friday tweet, Vance noted, “Marco and I don’t always agree on Ukraine policy, but he is absolutely right about this. “We’ve just had horrible fires in Maui, Biden still hasn’t declared a disaster in East Palestine, and hurricane season is just around the corner.
The freshman senator implored the White House to handle disaster relief first for U.S. citizens, then worry about Ukraine.
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told a House Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing last month that the agency’s disaster relief fund will be empty by mid-to-late August.
