On Monday, the House approved a resolution showing U.S. support for Finland and Sweden to join NATO after the two countries submitted applications to become part of the alliance two months ago.
The resolution passed 394-18.
The only ‘no’ votes came from Republicans.
Stand Together Vice President of Foreign Policy Dan Caldwell was disappointed more Republicans didn’t join them.
Good on these 18 Republicans but it’s sad that only 18 Republicans voted against committing our sons and daughters to defend two European welfare states who have been safe and prosperous as neutral nations for over 70 years. https://t.co/YPtIpRIRJt
— Dan Caldwell 🇺🇸 (@dandcaldwell) July 19, 2022
This vote took place as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, and Americans have begun to sour on sending billions more to the beleaguered country.
Rep. Chip Roy, one of the few ‘no’ votes, explained his opposition in a statement.
.@chiproytx on his NO vote on the House resolution expressing support for Finland and Sweden joining #NATO: pic.twitter.com/Ija3jtFp7c
— Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) July 19, 2022
Roy observed, “(O)ur country is $30 trillion in debt, and Congress should not sign off on expanding NATO when more than half its current members aren’t meeting their defense spending obligations.”
Libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie explained his ‘no’ vote in the same fiscally conservative, ‘America First’ framework.
America can’t afford to subsidize socialist Europe’s defense, nor should we. Tonight, I voted against the House Resolution urging NATO’s expansion into Sweden and Finland.https://t.co/SU7irqKLJN
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 18, 2022
Caldwell explained his opposition to allowing Finland and Sweden into NATO at length in a Fox News op-ed in June.
“Instead of enabling NATO accession for Finland and Sweden, the United States should take actions to encourage the strengthening and development of non-NATO security architectures in Europe like the Nordic Defence Cooperation, which Finland and Sweden are already a part of,” he wrote. “The failures of Russia’s military in Ukraine have demonstrated that collectively Europe is more than capable of securing itself without significant U.S. support, as long as they properly prioritize defense investments.”
“At a time of record inflation and a $30.5 trillion national debt, it is hard to justify spending more American tax dollars and committing more American troops to defend two wealthy European social democracies,” Caldwell observed.
The other Republicans to oppose the resolution included Reps. Andy Biggs, Dan Bishop, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, Ben Cline, Michael Cloud, Warren Davidson, Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Morgan Griffith, Tom McClintock, Mary Miller, Ralph Norman, Matt Rosendale, Chip Roy and Jeff Van Drew.
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