The Senate overwhelmingly approves Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO
The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to ratify Finland and Sweden’s membership in NATO, in a show of bipartisan support for the Western alliance’s expansion spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The House approved the resolution 95-1 with the only objection from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, who argued that further NATO expansion will distract the United States from confronting the rising threat from China.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, hailed the overwhelming vote for the two countries’ accession as a symbol of US defiance in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. Putin had cited previous post-Cold War NATO expansions as a primary justification for his attack on Kyiv.
“Today, at a moment when democracy in Europe is under attack, when belligerent autocrats like Putin clamor for European dominance, the US Senate voted in an overwhelming bipartisan manner to approve Finland and Sweden’s accession to the NATO alliance,” Schumer said. on the Senate floor.
“Putin has tried to use his war in Ukraine to divide the West,” he said. “Instead, today’s vote shows that our alliance is stronger than ever.”
NATO’s proposed expansion brings two high-tech, Western military forces into the alliance. The addition of Finland would more than double the size of Russia’s land border with NATO countries.
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The two Nordic countries, which have long opposed formal ties to NATO, submitted their formal bids to join the alliance in May. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the post-World War II alliance increasingly meaningful.
President Biden, who encouraged the two countries’ accession, hosted the two leaders at the White House just days after their bid was formally announced as a signal of support.
Senators on both sides of the aisle reiterated their support for the two countries’ NATO membership during the House floor debate on the resolution.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez said the vote signals “the United States’ ongoing commitment to peace, stability and democracy in Europe and around the world.”
“Expanding NATO is exactly the opposite of what Putin envisioned when he ordered his tanks to invade Ukraine,” the New Jersey Democrat said. “In fact, he may have been trying to test the resolve of the Alliance, and I’m glad we passed that test with overwhelming unity of vision and purpose.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, called Sweden and Finland joining the alliance a “slam dunk” for national security.
“There is simply no doubt that allowing these robust democracies with modern economies and capable, interoperable militaries will only strengthen the most successful military alliance in human history,” McConnell said on the Senate floor before the vote.
“If any senator is looking for a defensible excuse to vote no, I wish them the best of luck,” he said in a veiled shot at his Republican colleague, Mr. Hawley of Missouri, the only legislator to vote against the resolution.
Mr Hawley argued that expanding NATO is not in the country’s best interests as it also confronts growing threats from China.
“Expanding NATO will require more US forces in Europe,” he said. “More manpower, more resources, more spending – and not just now but in the long term. But our biggest foreign adversary is not in Europe.”
But Mr. Hawley’s objections drew no supporters in Wednesday’s debate.
“We can go and chew gum at the same time,” said Idaho Senator James E. Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Certainly we have to look at what’s going on in Asia, … but what we’re talking about here is the defense of the North Atlantic. This is probably one of the easiest votes I’ll ever make in the US Senate,” he said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved two Nordic countries’ bids to join the alliance last month by voice vote. Late. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, voted “present” for that vote and in the final vote Wednesday.
Paul, who often criticizes what he calls interventionist foreign policy moves, offered an amendment on Wednesday aimed at ensuring that the US obligation to defend its NATO ally would not supersede Congress’ role in authorizing the use of military force. It was voted down 87-10.
The Senate adopted by voice vote an amendment by Senator Dan Sullivan, Alaska Republican, which stated that all NATO members should meet minimum spending thresholds of 2% of their gross domestic product on defense and that 20% of their defense budgets should be for “critical equipment, including research and development .”
Both Sweden and Finland will require the approval of all 30 current NATO members before the process of joining the alliance begins. NATO officials in Brussels expect the accession period to go quickly.
Turkey initially opposed the accession of Finland and Sweden because of the two countries’ stance on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group that Ankara considers a terrorist group.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised his country’s objections to a trilateral agreement with Sweden and Finland that he announced at the start of the NATO summit in June.
The deal paved the way for Mr. Biden to send the ratification records to the Senate in July, and Senate leadership rushed to approve the measure before adjourning until the August recess.