Senate efforts to pass a resolution to support Ukraine without objection might have one with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Paul, famously cautious on foreign military action, seeks a pair of caveats: 1. The resolution is no authorization of war. 2. It is not clearance to send U.S. troops into Ukraine.
The resolution is largely symbolic in support of Ukraine amid U.S. intelligence expectations Russia intends to invade, intended to send a warning to Vladimir Putin. The Senate had considered seeking unanimous consent, but Paul warned against that move.
"We have some amendments to it," Paul told The Hill. "We believe that it should say, Nothing in this resolution is to be construed as an authorization of war, and nothing in this resolution is to be construed as authorizing the use of troops into Ukraine."
The amendments were offered to the resolution Wednesday night, but they were rejected, according to Paul.
"We're working through it," Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told The Hill.
The resolution is brought by a bipartisan group of senators: Portman; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; James Risch, R-Idaho; and Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
"This Congress is united in its support of Ukrainian independence and sovereignty," Portman wrote in a statement. "This resolution allows us to speak with one voice in denouncing the buildup of Russian troops at Ukraine's border and reaffirming our bipartisan commitment to impose significant costs on Russia in the event they choose to invade our ally.
"I hope this will send a strong signal to Russia: The world is united behind Ukrainian independence and freedom."
The final lines of the resolution are where Paul seeks clarification on the presidential authority, because it "encourages the president that, should any further invasion or other malign activity to undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine occur by Russia, the United States government should exhaust all tools at its disposal to impose significant costs on the Russian Federation to restore peace in Europe."
Ukraine is not a NATO ally, and Russia has said its military buildup is a preemptive measure to protect its border in the event NATO considers adding Ukraine as a member.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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