Once again, the elite press is covering for President Biden and the Democrats — and misleading the American people. Reporters and pundits are doing everything to blame House Republicans for the failure to pass a foreign aid bill, even though the Democrats refuse to come to the table.

The left’s principles are simple: Throw money at Ukraine (including a vast amount of non-military cash), send a much smaller amount to Israel, do nothing to offset the costs and reduce the deficit, and leave the American border in chaos. Otherwise, no deal. 

The House Republicans’ principles are also clear: Effectively help Ukraine and Israel — in a way Americans can afford — and secure the border. The American people are overwhelmingly with the House Republicans on offsetting foreign aid with spending cuts and stopping the flood of illegal immigration. 

Nevertheless, expect a relentless barrage of left-wing propaganda from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other bastions of self-appointed righteousness attacking Speaker Johnson and the House Republicans, simply for failing to obey Democrats’ demands.

How dare House Republicans worry about deficit spending and the ballooning national debt whose interest payments are now bigger than defense spending? How dare House Republicans side with Israel in wanting to destroy terrorists rather than impose a truce which will inevitably help Hamas and Iran?

How dare House Republicans want to close the border and protect Americans from groups such as the violent Venezuelan gang that recently attacked two New York City policemen?

Let’s be clear in respect of what is really happening: The Biden administration policy for Ukraine has put that country in a war of attrition with its larger neighbor. Thanks to Mr. Biden’s timidity and the Pentagon’s sluggish and increasingly incompetent bureaucracy, aid for Ukraine has been consistently too little, too late.

Defeating President Putin should be a clear and decisive American goal. I have been warning since 2013 that Mr. Putin is a KGB-trained believer in Great Russian nationalism. He called the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest tragedy of the 20th century. More than a decade ago, the American defense secretary, Robert Gates, described Mr. Putin as a “stone cold killer.” He was right.

Mr. Putin has played on all the West’s fears to minimize the quantity and quality of weapons going to Ukraine. Just as Mr. Putin planned, the Biden administration is terrified that if Ukraine’s army becomes too effective, Russia will use tactical nuclear weapons. Mr. Biden’s slowness and timidity have played directly into Mr. Putin’s hands.

 We need a profound rethinking of our national security strategy to develop a realistic, tough-minded approach to defeating Mr. Putin in Ukraine without starting a nuclear war. I first called for this realistic national strategic approach to defeating Mr. Putin during the invasion of Crimea in 2014. This is a much harder problem than the Biden administration or its allies in Congress have confronted.

If defeating Mr. Putin is a vital national interest — and I think it is — why does Mr. Biden value going into debt and keeping the border open above passing a Ukraine aid bill in the House? 

Meanwhile, on Israel, Mr. Biden has pledged that “the United States will always have Israel’s back.” This promise has been eroded by the pro-terrorist wing of the Democratic Party, by the strength of Muslim voters in Michigan, and by brain-washed college students who would prefer Israel accept its own destruction rather than defend itself against genocidal terrorists. 

While Mr. Biden says he wants to send military aid to Israel, he also threatens severe sanctions against Israel for the inevitable side effects of urban warfare against terrorists. The Biden Doctrine would protect Hamas, guarantee its renewed strength, prolong the violence — and lead to a more anti-American Middle East. 

The Biden administration is also failing to stop the Houthis (who just attacked three ships and shot down an American Reaper drone) and clearly failing to intimidate the Iranians. Yet, according to the establishment media, this must all be the House Republicans’ fault.

Finally, with daily evidence of the scale of illegal immigration at the border (including 5,700 adult males from China in January alone) and news reports about the rise of illegal immigrant created crime, the Biden administration is fighting every day to keep the border open. The press will point to the Senate’s border bill, which the White House claims to support. This bill, though, would only institutionalize the current dysfunction and do nothing to force change. 

It’s time to get serious. 

Mr. Putin must be defeated in Ukraine — before he attacks Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and forces an all-out war of horrifying consequences. 

We must help the Israelis complete the destruction of Hamas — and impose such pain on Iran and its puppets that the Middle East returns to the stability we saw during the Trump administration.

The greatest immediate threat to the United States is the continuing lawlessness at the border. We must stop allowing throngs of unaccompanied military-age males to cross our borders. The House Republicans have an answer the American people want. Make it law. 

Finally, while doing all this, we must return to a balanced budget. We passed four straight balanced budgets when I was speaker of the House. This is a vital American interest which will bring down inflation, establish a framework for dramatic economic growth, and give our children and grandchildren a better future. 

On every one of these areas the House Republicans are right, and Mr. Biden and the elite media are wrong.

It’s time for Washington to follow the American people.