House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) office pushed back aggressively on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) remarks Tuesday wondering if Senate GOP stalling of a Ukraine aid package unwittingly helped Russia annex Crimea.
“The Senate Majority Leader sounds completely unhinged,” Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, told TPM in an email. “The House has acted, and is continuing to act, in a reasonable and responsible way to give the White House the tools it needs to hold President Putin accountable.”
The spat came in response to an Associated Press article which quoted Reid as saying, “Since a few Republicans blocked these important sanctions last work period, Russian lawmakers voted to annex Crimea and Russian forces have taken over Ukrainian military bases. It’s impossible to know whether events would have unfolded differently if the United States had responded to Russian aggression with a strong, unified voice.”
Reid’s office declined to respond to Steel.
The Senate voted 78-17 on Monday to break a Republican filibuster and advance the $1 billion aid package of loan guarantees to Ukraine.
