'Hidden Impeachment Clause Against President Trump': J.D. Vance Reveals The Ugly Truth About Ukraine Aid Push

On Monday, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) made it his goal to stop the Ukraine funding bill dead in its tracks by sending a letter to colleagues and writing a column in the American Conservative. Vance argued that the Ukraine funding bill shows Senate leadership's unseriousness on border security and a covert clause that could lead to Trump's impeachment if he is reelected and brings peace to Ukraine.

The Ukraine funding package, which is a little over $15 billion in aid, came about after the Senate border deal, negotiated by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Kristen Sinema (I-AZ), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), failed to make it through the Senate after the $100 billion package, most of which went to Ukraine, was deemed too weak on the border. While both Democrats and the media have blamed conservatives like Vance for killing the legislation, the Ohio senator explains that nothing could be further from the truth.

"This is a fairytale that makes conservative senators and Donald Trump look bad, perhaps by design. In truth, the demands conservative senators made at the beginning of the negotiation went like this: Joe Biden can fix this problem, but he refuses, so we must make him do his job," Vance wrote. "In other words, Congress would appropriate money to Ukraine in stages: if Biden refused to drive down border crossings, he wouldn’t get his money for Ukraine."

Vance went on to explain that the Ukraine aid package pushed through the Senate after the border bill's demise will result in House Republicans being slandered as "extremists" who bring "chaos" to Congress. "This is how you save Joe Biden’s presidency: By taking the chaos of Joe Biden’s tenure and making it about Republican chaos being even worse," Vance explained. "By taking the extremism of Democrats and making it all about the crazy right-wingers in the House and Mar-a-Lago."

Vance also explains that the bill will be used against a potential second Trump administration if the then-47th president negotiates peace between Russia and Ukraine, given that aid funding would be required to extend up to September 2025, eight months into a second Trump term.

"But, of course, they have an insurance plan even if Trump pulls it off. Though few have noticed, buried in the bill’s text is a kill switch for the next Trump presidency. The legislation explicitly requires funding for Ukraine well into the next presidential term. The Washington Post has already reported this provision was added to control Donald Trump," Vance wrote. "It gets worse. Back in 2019, Democrats articulated a novel theory of impeachment based on Trump’s refusal to spend money from the USAI—Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Five years after impeaching Trump for refusing to spend money on Ukraine, they have drafted a new law that again requires Trump to spend money on Ukraine. If he negotiates an end to the war, as he has promised to do, they will undoubtedly argue that he has broken the law."

Vance also urged his Republican colleagues in the House to vote down the legislation by highlighting the "hidden impeachment clause" in the bill. "The supplemental represents an attempt by the foreign policy blob/deep state to stop President Trump from pursing his desired policy, and if he does so anyways, to provide grounds to impeach him and undermine his administration. All Republicans should oppose its passage." 

You can read Vance's full op-ed here.

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