Sweden and Finland want to join NATO, but these 18 Republicans voted no
The United States House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly for one resolution which supports Finland and Sweden joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – but there were some notable “nos”.
The Nordic countries, which have one long history of neutrality in the case of global alliances, applied to be part of NATO in May, a few months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland has a land border with Russia, as NATO has called it a “direct threat”.
The bipartisan resolution was passed in the House in a 394-18 vote on Monday, with only Republican members voting “no.” Nineteen other members of Congress did not vote, including two Democrats and 17 Republicans.
The GOP representatives who voted against it include:
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Rope. Andy Biggs (AZ)
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Rope. Dan Bishop (NC)
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Representative Lauren Boebert (CO)
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Rope. Madison Cawthorn (NC)
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Rope. Ben Cline (VA)
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Rope. Michael Cloud (TX)
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Rope. Warren Davidson (OH)
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Rope. Matt Gaetz (FL)
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Rope. Bob Good (OH)
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Rope. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA)
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Rope. H. Morgan Griffith (VA)
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Rope. Thomas Massie (KY)
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Rope. Tom McClintock (CA)
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Rope. Mary E. Miller (IL)
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Rope. Ralph Norman (SC)
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Rope. Matthew M. Rosendale Sr. (MT)
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Rope. Chip Roy (TX)
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Rope. Jefferson Van Drew (NJ)
So why would they vote against this? Well, together with the support for Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, the House’s resolution also opposes any attempt by the Russian Federation to act in a negative way in response to Finland’s and Sweden’s sovereign and historic decision to join NATO. And it asked other NATO countries to “quickly” ratify the accession protocols for Finland and Sweden.
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And many of these legislators who oppose the two potential new NATO members have also voted against other measures related to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. Kentucky Representative Massie tweeted on Monday that “America cannot afford to subsidize the defenses of socialist Europe.”
Arizona Rep. Biggs also tweeted that the United States “should not expand alliances that will further require us to serve as military for the world.”
The vote caused “Finland and Sweden”, “NATO” and “18 Republicans” to trend on Twitter throughout the day on Tuesday.
The House vote was mostly a symbolic gesture, as it is the Senate that actually approves new NATO members on behalf of the United States. All 30 NATO members must unanimously approve new member states before being admitted. This is how it works.
Read more: Finland and Sweden want to join NATO. How does it work and are there obstacles?
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“This is a good day in a critical moment for our security,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said when the applications were submitted in May. “Every nation has the right to choose its own path.”
As mentioned above, Finland’s and Sweden’s move to join NATO follows after neighboring Russia invaded Ukraine in February. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky CNN in July that he hopes the war will be over by the end of 2022. “We can achieve many things before the end of the year and we can stop this war,” he said.