Steve Lynch: “As a member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, I rise in strong opposition to executive actions taken…”

“As a member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, I rise in strong opposition to executive actions taken by the Trump administration to shut down U.S. foreign assistance and undermine America's national security. Over the past two decades, I have led multiple bipartisan congressional delegations to Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, Somalia, and Gaza, as well as other conflict zones. These oversight missions have examined the implementation of U.S. foreign assistance firsthand, precisely because the security and humanitarian aid that we provide to our international partners is critical to advancing U.S. national security and foreign policy priorities around the world. Recent executive actions taken by the Trump administration demonstrate a blatant disregard for the important role that foreign aid serves in keeping America, including American servicemembers who are deployed in these conflict zones, safe. In the first major foreign policy action of his new term, President Trump issued an indiscriminate stop order, suspending U.S. foreign assistance for at least 3 months. That includes the suspension of security and military aid to Ukraine which is entering the fourth year of its fight for independence against the brutal and unlawful invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022. Our continued support for Ukraine is vital to the ability of the U.S. and our NATO allies to deter escalating Russian aggression across Europe.…”