The Lend-Lease deal was signed this week. Tiffany was one of only 10 congressmen to vote against it.
Republican US Rep. Tom Tiffany said Thursday morning that he does not know if he would have supported the landmark 1941 deal that enabled Great Britain to fend off an invasion from Nazi Germany and eventually win the Second World War.
“I don’t know how I would’ve voted on Lend-Lease in 1941, I wasn’t there,” Tiffany told Ben Dryden of the online news site DrydenWire during an interview. Tiffany has voted a number of times against providing Ukraine with both military and financial assistance.
After reflecting on how most Americans in hindsight believe the country did the right things in World War II, Tiffany backtracked and added, “I wasn’t there at that time to know all of the ins and outs on that. I would guess that I probably would have voted for it.”
Lend-Lease was an arrangement that allowed the United States to keep its armed forces out of the conflict in Europe while supplying desperately needed food, oil, ships, planes, and other material necessary for defending what little was left of free Europe at the time.
Congress overwhelmingly passed an updated version of Lend-Lease designed to assist Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s brutal invasion, with Tiffany being one of only 10 Republicans to oppose it.
This week, the House adopted a supplemental Ukrainian aid package with 368 members in support. Tiffany was one of only 57 Republicans who voted no; most of them (49) had also voted on Jan. 6 to overturn US election results just hours after insurrectionists attacked the US Capitol.
After he expressed uncertainty about whether he would have helped oppose Nazi aggression, Tiffany also noted that Thursday is the second anniversary of his winning a seat in Congress in the 7th District special election. Tiffany filled the seat after Republican Sean Duffy abruptly resigned months earlier. Two candidates—one Democrat and one Republican—have filed paperwork seeking to challenge Tiffany later this year.
Pat Kreitlow The Founding Editor of UpNorthNews, Pat was a familiar presence on radio and TV stations in western Wisconsin before serving in the state Legislature. After a brief stint living in the Caribbean, Pat and wife returned to Chippewa Falls to be closer to their growing group of grandchildren.
