Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has taken issue with a recent Wall Street Journal editorial that referred to him and 13 other House Republicans as the “GOP Isolationist Caucus” and the “dishonor roll” for voting against several recent foreign aid bills. The legislation in question provided military assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in a political environment that has seen an incredible amount of pushback from conservative voters.
Mitch McConnell cannot stop the non-interventionist tide in the GOP https://t.co/BoWvfVuuLW
— OC Register Opinion (@ocropinion) April 8, 2024
In response to the editorial, Roy took to X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, to rebrand the group as “The GOP anti-open borders anti-debt & anti-Hamas caucus.” He accused the WSJ of endorsing unchecked military spending and the exploitation of cheap labor at the expense of American interests. “Fixed it for you but you won’t care because you are fine with (unpaid for) war & cheap labor (on the welfare state) Americans be damned” Roy wrote.
The Texas congressman further explained his opposition to the foreign aid package in a press release issued on Saturday. “For months House Republicans — specifically Speaker Mike Johnson — have been unequivocal that we would not send billions in additional aid to Ukraine without securing our own border first” Roy stated.
He criticized the foreign aid as being financed by new borrowing from China and printing money out of thin air describing it as a betrayal of GOP leadership’s promises. Roy also expressed concerns about corruption in the Ukrainian government and the possibility that aid to Israel could be diverted to support Hamas terrorists.
The debate is a manifestation of an ongoing struggle within the Republican Party over foreign policy. As retired Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) pointed out in a recent op-ed for The Orange County Register, a non-interventionist approach once the norm is gaining traction among Republicans disillusioned with prolonged foreign entanglements that they believe benefit military and corporate interests at the expense of American taxpayers.
