The U.S. government is in the middle of a dramatic and dangerous shift in foreign policy away from Ukraine (and our NATO allies) and toward Russia in the war between the two countries. In doing so, the Trump Administration and its supporters are potentially shifting the balance of power on the battlefield in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. The consequences for America’s interests abroad are colossal and possibly catastrophic. But just as troubling—perhaps even more so—is what it reveals about changing values at home.
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The Trump Administration voted against a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and President Donald Trump derided President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Though the Trump Administration recently announced it will resume military aid to Ukraine, the fundamental dangers of a shift towards Russia remain, as Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Russia’s numerous ceasefire conditions in a closed-door meeting at the Kremlin Thursday evening.
The shift is a victory for one ideological camp in a deeply divided Republican Party. I witnessed firsthand the last time this fight played out over military aid to Ukraine in 2019, and know from personal experience what is at stake. As the senior career civil servant overseeing defense, intelligence, and veterans’ programs at the Office of Management and Budget during the first Trump Administration, I was asked to sign off on a hold on military aid to Ukraine, similar to that recently imposed by Trump. Back then, in part thanks to principled conservatives in the Administration and in Congress, the Administration relented and released the aid after details about the hold in assistance began to emerge. Ultimately, this lead to the President’s first impeachment.
This time, however, the shift from Ukraine toward Russia is being embraced by key political allies of Trump who have long claimed to be staunch conservatives. For instance, while House Speaker Mike Johnson has said it is “absurd” to claim Republicans support Putin, his own critiques against Zelensky are telling. What is underway is not just forsaking Ukraine in favor of Russia, it is an acceptance of unprovoked aggression and documented, horrific war crimes and an abandonment of conservative principles by politicians who are revealing themselves to be “Conservative” Republicans in Name Only (CRINOs).
Not long ago these CRINOs stood firm behind conservative principles. Congressman and now House Speaker Johnson has listed seven core principles of conservatism including individual freedom, peace through strength, and human dignity. He emphasizes the importance of America’s “moral leadership in an increasingly dangerous world,” noting that “weakness invites aggression.”
Those values were widely touted by Republicans, including by President Trump himself during his first term. One need only read President Trump’s own 2017 National Security Strategy to see that at work. In it, Trump pledged to pursue “a world of strong, sovereign, and independent nations, each with its own cultures and dreams” and promised to “never lose sight of our values and their capacity to inspire, uplift, and renew.” Trump’s strategy argued that “the revisionist powers of China and Russia” wanted to “shape a world antithetical to U.S. values and interests” with an aim to “weaken U.S. influence in the world and divide us from our allies and partners.” Moreover, the Trump strategy argued, “Russia is using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of America’s commitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European institutions and governments. With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia demonstrated its willingness to violate the sovereignty of states in the region.”
Now, instead, President Trump has praised Russian President Putin, calling him a “genius” and Ukrainian President Zelensky a “dictator.” And his Administration temporarily paused military assistance to Ukraine and suspended crucial intelligence sharing—even though Russia continues to launch deadly strikes. Many CRINOs have essentially adopted Russian talking points, refusing to acknowledge Russia alone is to blame for starting the war, and not defending Ukraine’s sovereignty. The Trump Administration has effectively adopted a strategy of appeasement toward Russia, and too many Republicans in Congress who used to proclaim their ardent defense of democracy and vehement opposition to tyrants around the globe have now adopted their own policy of appeasement of the President.
Republicans may argue they are not abandoning Ukraine, or their values, by pursuing a peace deal acceptable to Russia. But any deal that does not restore and protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity does just that.
To conserve means to protect from harm or destruction. We need true conservatives to protect unalienable rights, fundamental values, and America’s moral leadership abroad. We also need true conservatives, many of whom proclaim their adherence to Christian values, to abide by their values at home for reasons that go well beyond foreign policy.
Republican leaders’ adoption of talking points on Ukraine that repeat Russian disinformation is just one example of how abandoning values abroad threatens democracy at home. The ninth commandment instructs us not to bear false witness. As Speaker Johnson’s own conservative principle of human dignity aptly states, “every person should be measured only by the content of their character.” What is the character of those who bear false witness and favor Russia’s tyrannical lies over Ukrainians’ unalienable rights?
The Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, their liberty, and what should be our shared values of standing up to unprovoked invasions and subversive assaults by Russia. It is crucial for America’s vital interests that we support the Ukrainians in their fight. As the failures of appeasement have shown before, if we fail to continue to support Ukraine now, we could embolden not only Russia’s aggression in Europe but also China’s aggression vis-a-vis Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Just as worrying are the consequences of self-proclaimed conservatives abandoning the values they claim to hold dear. When we become a country where political leaders claim to uphold a set of values while acting to undermine them, we have truly lost a key pillar of what has made America great. At home and abroad, America needs true conservatives, not CRINOs.