Some members of the Republican Party are meeting with associates of Hungary's conservative minister, Viktor Orbán, in Washington D.C. this week to discuss terminating U.S. aid to Ukraine. Starting on Monday, the Guardian reported, a two-day event hosted by right-wing organization Heritage Foundation will commence, melding GOP-ers with members of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy.
Far-right Republicans have tried to stymie aid to Ukraine over the last several months, in stark contrast to the staunch bipartisan support seen when Russia launched its attack on Ukraine in February of 2022. These legislators have sought to use the Russo-Ukraine war as a means of enacting other political goals — chiefly, they've demanded more stringent immigration policy and protections along the U.S.-Mexico border. On Wednesday, the GOP blocked an emergency spending bill meant to funnel financial aid to Ukraine, even though President Joe Biden said he would be willing to offer "significant compromises" related to the border. “Make no mistake: Today’s vote’s going to be long remembered, and history is going to judge harshly those who turned their backs on freedom’s cause,” Biden said from the White House on Wednesday, not long before the vote took place.
Orbán, an authoritarian leader and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has emphasized a number of far-right values during his tenure. In particular, he has taken aim at the teaching of gender ideology, tried to bribe Hungarian women to have more children, and adopted an extreme stance against immigration. Orbán has also condemned the financial backing of Ukraine. "Orbán is confident that the Ukraine aid will not pass in Congress. That is why he is trying to block assistance from the EU as well," a source close to the Hungarian embassy said. On December 3, Orbán argued that Ukraine's European Union membership should be stripped from the European Council's agenda. The Hungarian leader took to X to double down on his assertion, writing, “It is clear that the proposal of the European Commission on Ukraine’s EU accession is unfounded and poorly prepared.”
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The Heritage Foundation has likewise been critical of aid to Ukraine. The Guardian noted how last year, the executive director of its lobbying operation, Jessica Anderson, released a statement under the headline: “Ukraine Aid Package Puts America Last.” And over the summer Heritage’s vice-president, Victoria Coates wrote on social media, “It’s time to end the blank, undated checks for Ukraine.” Heritage’s president, Kevin Roberts, lauded Orbán after a meeting in November of 2022, writing on X/Twitter: “One thing is clear from visiting Hungary and from being involved in current policy and cultural debates in America: the world needs a movement that fights for Truth, for tradition, for families, and for the average person.”
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The conservative think tank has spearheaded Project 2025, a plan to be prepared with a spate of red, MAGA replacements for the "Deep State" traitors Trump plans to oust once he assumes the presidency. Peter Dans, the director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project said, "We need to flood the zone with conservatives. This is a clarion call to come to Washington. People need to lay down their tools, and step aside from their professional life and say, ‘This is my lifetime moment to serve.’”
The Guardian cited senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in D.C., Dalibor Rohac, regarding the recent political alignment between Hungary and some members of the American right. Rohac said, "The Hungarian embassy in DC has been very active lately, trying to repair ties with the Republicans and strengthen them where it’s appropriate."
“It is also not surprising that Heritage is the venue of these talks because they are different from other think tanks in DC; they are more partisan, and their funding model heavily overlaps with the Trump base.”
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