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It seemed like the sort of resolution that could pass the House unanimously. Democratic Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania championed a measure that condemned Russia’s “illegal kidnapping” of Ukrainian children. As The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum noted, it’s an ongoing crisis: “The kidnapping and brainwashing of Ukrainian children is Putin’s cruelest crime.”
The bill was symbolic — it merely reflected the will of members — and it didn’t commit the United States to actually do anything or spend any money. There was no reason for even the most ardent far-right critics of Ukraine to balk.
When the resolution reached the House floor last night, it passed easily. The vote was not, however, without opponents. A total of nine House Republicans — and zero House Democrats — voted against it:
- Andy Biggs of Arizona
- Eric Burlison of Missouri
- Warren Davidson of Ohio
- Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
- Clay Higgins of Louisiana
- Thomas Massie of Kentucky
- Matt Rosendale of Montana
- Chip Roy of Texas
- Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin
To be sure, it’s tough to understand why these GOP members voted against the measure, even knowing in advance that it would pass, though I suppose it could’ve been worse.
Circling back to our earlier coverage, when the House voted overwhelmingly to ban oil imports from Russia in 2022, 15 House Republicans opposed the measure. A week earlier, the House easily passed a non-binding resolution in support of Ukrainians, which only three Republicans opposed.
Soon after, the House voted to suspend normal trade relations with Russia, and that measure was opposed by only eight Republicans.
When the House passed a bill directing the Biden administration to collect evidence of Russian war crimes, only six Republicans opposed the measure. When the House passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, only 10 GOP members voted no. The same week, the House passed a largely symbolic measure, pressing the White House to support Ukraine through confiscated Russian oligarchs’ assets, and four Republicans opposed it.
It wasn’t long before this GOP contingent picked up some unflattering nicknames. Then-Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, for example, labeled the faction the Republican Party’s “Putin wing.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called them the “GOP’s pro-Putin faction.” A Washington Post report added that these Republicans have formed “what some Democrats (and even critics on the right) have labeled ‘Putin’s Caucus.’”
Those labels probably won’t go away now that nine GOP members, each with familiar names, had a problem with a resolution condemning Russia for taking Ukrainian children.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.