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The United States’ foreign policy is undergoing a significant and potentially dangerous shift away from supporting Ukraine and toward Russia in their ongoing conflict. This shift, driven by the Trump Administration and its allies, could alter the balance of power in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, with major and potentially disastrous implications for American interests. However, the changing values within the U.S. that this shift reveals are equally, if not more, concerning.
The Trump Administration abstained from a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Additionally, President Donald Trump hosted President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Although the Trump Administration recently announced it will provide military aid to Ukraine, the dangers of leaning towards Russia remain. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Russia’s repeated ceasefire violations during a private meeting at the Kremlin on Thursday evening.
This change represents a victory for one faction within the deeply divided Republican Party. Having witnessed this struggle firsthand in 2019 regarding military aid to Ukraine, I understand the stakes involved. During the first Trump Administration, as the senior civil servant overseeing defense, intelligence, and veterans’ programs at the Office of Management and Budget, I was asked to approve a hold on military aid to Ukraine, similar to the one recently imposed by Trump. At that time, thanks in part to principled conservatives within the Administration and Congress, the Administration eventually released the aid after details of the hold began to surface, ultimately leading to the President’s impeachment.
This time, however, key political allies of Trump, who have long presented themselves as staunch conservatives, are embracing the shift away from Ukraine and toward Russia. For example, while House Speaker Mike Johnson claims it is “” to suggest Republicans support Putin, his actions against Zelensky are revealing. This situation involves more than just abandoning Ukraine for Russia; it signifies an acceptance of unprovoked aggression and tyranny, horrific war crimes, and a betrayal of conservative principles by politicians who are merely “Conservative” Republicans In Name Only (CRINOs).
Not long ago, these CRINOs firmly upheld conservative principles. Congressman, now House Speaker Johnson, has highlighted seven core tenets of conservatism, including individual freedom, peace through strength, and human dignity. He emphasizes the significance of America’s “moral leadership in an increasingly dangerous world,” noting that “weakness invites aggression.”
Republicans widely promoted these values, including President Trump during his first term. One only needs to look at President Trump’s 2017 National Security Strategy to see this in action. 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 asserted that “the revisionist powers of China and Russia” aimed to “shape a world antithetical to U.S. values and interests” with the goal of “weaken[ing] U.S. influence in the world and divid[ing] us from our allies and partners.” Furthermore, 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, President Trump praises Russian President Putin, calling him a “” and describes Ukrainian President Zelensky as a “.” His Administration temporarily halted military aid to Ukraine and suspended vital intelligence sharing, despite Russia’s ongoing deadly strikes. Many CRINOs have essentially echoed Russian propaganda, refusing to acknowledge Russia’s sole responsibility for initiating the war and failing to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty. The Trump Administration has effectively adopted a strategy of appeasement toward Russia, and too many Republicans in Congress, who once championed the ardent defense of democracy and vehemently opposed tyrants globally, have now embraced their own policy of appeasing the President.
Republicans may argue they are not abandoning Ukraine or their values by seeking a peace agreement acceptable to Russia. However, any agreement that fails to restore and protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity constitutes such an abandonment.
To conserve means to protect from harm or destruction. We need true conservatives to safeguard unalienable rights, fundamental values, and America’s moral leadership abroad. We also need true conservatives, many of whom profess adherence to Christian values, to uphold their values at home for reasons extending beyond foreign policy.
Republican leaders’ adoption of talking points on Ukraine that echo Russia 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?
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 demonstrated in the past, failing to continue supporting Ukraine now could embolden not only Russia’s aggression in Europe but also China’s aggression toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea.
Equally concerning are the consequences of self-proclaimed conservatives abandoning the values they claim to cherish. When our 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. America needs true conservatives, not CRINOs, both at home and abroad.
