'I hope to God': Navalny death must spur U.S. lawmakers to act against Russia, Biden says
CBC
The reported death of Russia's opposition leader has landed in the midst of a momentous battle in Washington over whether to keep funding Russia's military adversary.
President Joe Biden expressed a hope Friday that lawmakers in his country would respond to the death of Alexei Navalny by punishing Russia through extending weapons assistance to Ukraine.
He saluted Navalny as a brave, principled man who knowingly risked his safety by returning to Russia from exile in 2021.
Biden made clear at a news conference Friday that he blames Russia's leader for the death, even if the specific cause remains unknown: "[Vladimir] Putin [once] had him poisoned, he had him arrested, he had him prosecuted.... Putin is responsible."
He said he was outraged, but not surprised, by Navalny's death, reported Friday by the prison service of the remote Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence.
Biden then urged members of the U.S. Congress to respond by passing a bill that would send Ukraine nearly $60 billion US in weapons, roughly one year's supply.
"History is watching the House of Representatives," Biden said of the bill, which passed the Senate but risks getting stuck in the Republican-led House.
Biden was unequivocal when asked whether Navalny's death might spur movement on the bill. "I hope to God it helps." But he took a dig at the House of Representatives for going on recess, calling the legislative delay ludicrous.
"It's about time they step up, don't you think? Instead of going on a two-week vacation," Biden said. "Two weeks! What are they thinking? My God. This is bizarre.… This is outrageous."
Biden said he's also considering new sanctions on top of the ones he's already announced against Russia, but did not get into specifics: "We're looking at a whole number of options."
The reaction to Navalny's death on the U.S. right has been complex. The Republican Party and conservative movement remained torn on matters related to Putin's Russia.
In their public statements Friday, Republicans appeared to be taking shots at each other. From lawmakers to staffers, some accused their fellow partisans of being Putin lackeys.
Former vice-president Mike Pence called Putin a war criminal and said there's no room in the Republican Party for his apologists. In a similar message to his own party, Sen. Mitt Romney quoted scripture from the Book of Isaiah: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil."
But the Republican Party's presumed presidential nominee didn't say anything. Donald Trump didn't mention the bombshell world news among his dozens of social media posts Friday. The silence was reminiscent of 2020 when Navalny was poisoned and Trump avoided discussing it.