Democrat congressman says the 'Ukrainian Russian border is our border'

During the House debate on a massive foreign aid bill to provide $60 billion to Ukraine, Virginia's Rep. Gerald Connolly proclaimed that the border of Ukraine is actually the United States' border.

"Some say we have to deal with our border first," Connolly said, "The Ukrainian Russian border is our border!" After the bill passed in the House, Democrat reps waived Ukrainian flags. The bill went ahead despite not including a provision to protect the US border.

Connolly was also a proponent of funding for Gaza, the region that is fighting against America's ally Israel after the terrorists from Gaza undertook a massacre of Israeli civilians on Ocober 7, 2023.

"It's the border between depraved autocracy and freedom-loving people seeking our democratic way of life. Do we have a stake in that outcome?" He asked.

"Yes," he answered. "Undeniably, yes."

"Will we rise to the occasion?" He asked his fellow congress members. "Will we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who for 1,151 days have been holding off the depraved, thuggish dictator Vladimir Putin, who has respected no norms of warfare.

"He's targeted children and hospitals and schools. He's bombed apartment blocks killing 1,000s," Connolly said.

The concern of many Republicans in Congress, and across the United States, has been that the real border that needs protecting is the border of the United States where it meets Mexico. Millions of illegal immigrants have been crossing into the US since Joe Biden took the White House in 2021, and his administration has enacted programs to allow 30,000 additional illegal immigrants from specific countries each month.

When asked how long Americans should be expected to have to foot the bill for the war in Ukraine, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that "Americans are not funding the war in Ukraine. They first and foremost protect freedom and democracy all over Europe."

He claimed that by funding Ukraine's effort, the US was actually protecting Europe.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was only able to gain the post after his predecessor Kevin McCathy of California was ousted from his position following complaints from hard-right conservatives who demanded action and funding to secure America's border before additional foreign aid was sent to Ukraine, Israel, or Taiwan.

Johnson did not comply with this request, instead bringing a vote to the floor that funnels more cash overseas while leaving America vulnerable to increased illegal immigration and the crime, resource crunch, and human trafficking that comes along with that poor management.

The senior member of the of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly released a statement after the bill pass, saying:

"Today, I was proud to vote for President Biden’s security supplemental funding package which will finally deliver what Ukraine desperately needs to defend its sovereign territory."

"Ukraine represents the front line of the fight between freedom and repression," he said, "Between democracy and autocracy. Between those who carry the flame of democratic ambition and those who aim to extinguish it."

And he condemned those Republicans with whom he serves, though it was their majority that aided in the passed of the bill. Connolly believes that not only should the US send funds to its ally Israel, but should also provide aid to Palestinians in Gaza. This after a Palestinian terror group carried out a massacre against Israel. Connolly has not proposed funding both sides of the war in Ukraine.

"With Republicans in control of the House, this will be our only chance to pass the humanitarian aid that is urgently needed in Gaza. We must seize that opportunity. Republicans not only waited 67 days since the Senate passed the security supplemental to provide aid to Ukraine, they delayed that vital humanitarian assistance."

Connolly called for a ceasefire in Israel, but not in Ukraine. "Today’s funding package, however, must not distract us from efforts to bring home the hostages and use every piece of leverage available to us to push for a mutually agreed upon ceasefire and insist that Israel fight Hamas in a way that abides by international law and reflects our shared democratic values."

He further called on Biden to prevent the aid for Israel that was in the bill he voted for from reaching Israel, saying "I call on the President to withhold the transfer of any offensive weapons until there is a robust agreement on humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people and until Israel accepts President Biden’s caution about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s catastrophic plans for Rafah."