Congress is about to provide Ukraine with another $12.3 billion in aid. That will take the total Ukraine-related U.S. aid to $67 billion since February. This massive U.S. commitment reflects a bipartisan priority that Russia not succeed in its effort to destroy a sovereign European democracy. China is watching what is happening in Ukraine very closely, assessing how the West might respond to its own invasion of Taiwan. The outcome of the war in Ukraine, then, is a key test of the post-1945 U.S.-led democratic international order.
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Source: AP Photo/Steve Helber
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is planning to vote for a waiver to get Lloyd Wright on the job as defense secretary. President-elect Joe Biden nominated the former four-star general to serve, but because he s recently retired, he requires a congressional waiver. A group of former defense secretaries sent a letter to Congress urging them to consider granting it.
Murphy was in this same position in 2017 when President-elect Donald Trump nominated newly retired General James Mattis for defense secretary. Back then Murphy voted against the waiver, which was approved on Jan. 13, a week before Trump s inauguration. Now, Murphy says the time is ripe to vote in favor. He said that his constituents have the right to ask him what changed.