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Senate Republicans could block former President Donald Trump from cutting funding to Ukraine, according to Senator J.D. Vance.
Vance is on a multi-pronged campaign to pressure GOP lawmakers against voting for the foreign aid bill that is making its way through Congress, circulating memos to his fellow Senate Republicans and penning op-eds explaining how the legislation is a "plot" against Trump.
Vance argued Monday that the $95.3 billion foreign aid that's expected to pass in the Senate this week could be used to impeach Trump should he win a second term in November.
"We are nearly a year away from an election that could give Trump the presidency, and Ukraine-obsessive Republicans have already given the Democrats a predicate to impeach him," Vance wrote in an op-ed for the American Conservative.
The Senate took a procedural vote on the bill Sunday, which showed growing GOP support despite lobbying efforts from Trump and his congressional allies against the package. The legislation received support from 18 Republicans, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Vance, a staunch Trump ally, called the bill an "impeachment time bomb" in his letter to his colleagues Monday, arguing that because $15.3 billion of Ukraine funds won't expire until September 30, 2025—nearly a year into a possible second Trump term—Trump wouldn't be able to withdraw that foreign aid "in order to bring the conflict to a peaceful conclusion" without the threat of impeachment.
"If [Trump] negotiates an end to the war, as he has promised to do, they will undoubtedly argue that he has broken the law," Vance wrote in his op-ed.
In the memo to his GOP colleagues, Vance said the bill would "stop President Trump from pursuing his desired policy, and if he does so anyways, to provide grounds to impeach him and undermine his administration."
Vance's arguments have been well-received by other MAGA lawmakers. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal Trump supporter, retweeted Vance's post about the memo he circulated with the caption, "DEAD ON ARRIVAL IN THE HOUSE!!! ☠️ Any Republican that votes for this career will be over."
"Republicans need to be aware that this bill, supported by Mitch McConnell and almost all of Senate GOP leadership, sets in motion the next hyper-partisan Trump impeachment (before he's even elected!)" Senator Rand Paul said of Vance's letter in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"JD is correct. This bill is an impeachment trap!" Representative Matt Gaetz also wrote.
Vance specifically criticized McConnell in his Monday op-ed, blasting the Kentucky Republican for not pushing Democrats harder on tougher immigration policies in exchange for the Ukraine funding and warning that Democrats would likely use Republican support for the bill against Trump.
"We had a Republican conference meeting on Monday, well before anyone had time to digest major provisions. McConnell left the meeting and praised the bill but criticized the changing political dynamics. He blamed Donald Trump. He blamed the House of Representatives," the Ohio Republican wrote. "It's hard to imagine a more damaging political message."
Newsweek reached out to McConnell via email for comment.
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About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more