From an interview with Congressman Cline by Caleb Peek of WHSV:

Peek: Fuel prices, specifically diesel, right, still hovering around that all-time record high. It has come down a little bit, but it’s still very elevated obviously. The president recently announced a deal to import several million tons of Russian diesel for both domestic and global markets. Economists are wary. They say the amount of diesel coming in, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to how much diesel the US actually needs. Your colleague Chuck Schumer has called it a deal with the devil. You also have several Republicans joining Democrats to push back on that agreement. And now the most recent news, the president is waiving sanctions and tariffs on certain nations that still purchase Russian energy. That was included in a bill he just signed into law last month. Where do you stand on all of this? Does the Russian economy deserve a lifeline from the US?

Cline: I voted for those Russian sanctions.

Peek: Mm.

Cline: Russia is an adversary and, uh, is the antagonist in the war in Ukraine. Uh, we need to, uh, help Ukraine. We need to stand up against Russian aggression. Uh, so maintaining those sanctions is important. But we left, uh, uh, a little bit of leeway in the law to give the president discretion when, uh, necessary to be able to waive those sanctions. He’s determined that now is a short-term time to waive those to ensure that, uh, Americans, uh, aren’t hurting when it comes to diesel prices. Um, I trust the administration’s judgment for the, uh, waiving of those sanctions, but I do believe those sanctions are necessary, that we have to stand strong against Russia, and I’ll continue to push, uh, to support our friends, uh, against Russian aggression.

So Cline says “we need to, uh, help Ukraine” but he’s fine with Trump waiving sanctions designed to help Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

And Cline trusts Trump’s judgment for waiving the sanctions? The same Trump who clearly likes and favors Russia’s President Putin and detests Ukraine’s President Zelensky?

Why?

Despite Cline’s claim to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, Cline Watch has documented his voting record in Congress– which tells a very different story.

Shortly after the election of Donald Trump in 2024, his sycophant Congressman Cline proudly posted this on his congressional Facebook page:

DOGE, of course, turned out to be a destructive farce.

Now comes news of Vivek Ramaswamy’s vile attack ad against his opponent Dr. Amy Acton in the race for governor of Ohio and a Wall Street Journal report that Elon Musk enabled murderous Russian aggression against Ukraine,

Are you still proud to be associated with these despicable characters, Congressman?

The Federal Election Commission has released Ben Cline’s campaign finance report for July 1 through September 30, 2026.

As usual, it’s loaded with donations from corporate and special interest PACs, including:

Big Hollywood: the Walt Disney Company ($2,000), Universal Music Group ($1,000), ASCAP ($2,000).

Defense contractors: General Dynamics ($2,000), Lockheed Martin ($1,000).

Banking and financial services: American Financial Services ($2,500), American Bankers Association ($5,000), Goldman Sachs ($2,500).

Big Tech: Amazon ($1,000), Google ($2,000).

Big Pharma: Teva Pharmaceuticals ($5,000), Amneal Pharmaceuticals ($1,000).

Fossil fuels: Chevron ($1,000).

Private prisons: Geo Group ($1,500).

Health insurance: Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) ($1,500), Genworth Financial ($2,500).

Energy: Dominion Energy ($1,000).

Union busting: National Right to Work Committee ($250).

And since Cline hasn’t held an open town hall meeting in more than a year and is dodging genuine debates with his Democratic opponent Beth Macy, this one– from the National Chicken Council— is worthy of note:

But even with all the corporate cash flowing in over the past three months, Cline was still outraised by his opponent Macy, whose campaign took in more than twice as much in donations without taking a dollar from corporate PACs.

The following news release is from the Beth Macy for Congress campaign.

ROANOKE — On Saturday, Oct. 10, Democratic candidate Beth Macy talked to voters from the top to the bottom of Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, from Front Royal to Roanoke – 174 miles. 

Meanwhile, Ben Cline, the Republican incumbent, was more than 2,000 miles away dining with lobbyists from Google and Nvidia at an $800-a-night winery resort in Napa Valley. 

“Congress is on recess, a time when Ben COULD be talking to his constituents about what he’s going to do to bring down gas prices, end the war in Iran, release the Epstein files, regulate a tech world gone out of control. 

“Instead, he’s on a Cali junket with the people bringing you unregulated data centers and AI. Can you believe it?” Macy said.

Cline attended a weekend gathering organized by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., at The Estate Yountville. Other scheduled attendees at the Scalise Leadership Fund event were U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, and Joe Strada, a MAGA multimillionaire running for Florida House 11. 

Invited  industry representatives included UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health and Storm Services LLC. Texas Monthly reported the Texas Military Department “paid other contractors, like Storm Services LLC, over $750 million to build and maintain temporary based camps” for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border surge, called Operation Lone Star. The ACLU of Texas says the state-run immigration enforcement program is unconstitutional and polluted by racial profiling.

“Who does Ben Cline keep company with? Is he really against data centers, or does this junket show he’s all about staying in perfect step with Trump’s illegal and immoral actions against Americans?”

The Teamsters Union reports:

Over 400 workers at the Molson Coors facility in the Shenandoah Valley have voted to join Teamsters Local 29. The packaging, warehouse, brewing, interplant distribution, utilities, and maintenance workers organized for increased wages, improved benefits, and a voice on the job.

“These workers remained determined and refused to let management’s union-busting tactics stand in the way of organizing,” said Jeff Padellaro, Director of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference. “We are proud to welcome these new members and we are ready to support them as they prepare to negotiate a fair first contract.”

“This vote is a proud moment for the workers at Molson Coors and the beginning of a positive new chapter,” said Jeff Vaughan, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 29. “The members voted for structure, clear standards, and a seat at the table. Our goal is to negotiate a comprehensive contract that delivers for these members and their families.”

The workers overcame an aggressive union-busting campaign by Molson Coors. The company spread false information regarding status quo bargaining and purposefully conflated dues and DRIVE contributions in an effort to discourage workers from unionizing. Despite the campaign, workers remained united and voted to join the Teamsters.

Although Congressman Cline has not publicly reacted to the union victory at the Elkton facility, it’s hard to imagine him celebrating it– especially considering this:

During his career in the Virginia House of Delegates and the US Congress, Cline has done everything he could to make it harder for workers to unionize.

Cline Watch has documented the congressman’s support for anti-union right-to-work-for-less laws in Virginia and elsewhere, and his opposition to the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would remove some of the barriers that make union organizing so difficult– even when a clear majority of workers want to join.

In June Cline voted NO on the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which would prevent employers whose workers have unionized from endless delays in negotiating a first agreement.

The Molson Coors workers in Elkton have sent a powerful message that most of the people Cline represents in Congress don’t hate unions as much as he and other Republican politicians think they should.

As Congressman Cline makes some pathetic and half-hearted efforts to distance himself from Donald Trump in the final weeks of the 2026 election, let’s revisit the September 14 hearing of the House Rules Committee, where Cline and Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin testified as members of the House Judiciary Committee.

As reported at Cline Watch, Congressman Joe Neguse took the opportunity to expose Cline’s and the Republicans’ hypocrisy for their support of “anti-fraud” legislation

At the same hearing Cline underwent another humiliating round of questioning from Congressman Jim McGovern about Trump’s ridiculous plan to send a $5,000 check to every American adult– if Republicans keep control of Congress in the election.

As PBS reported:

Asked about how the government would pay for the dividend checks, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that some of the money would come from tariff revenue.

Here’s what to know about the legal and economic barriers facing Trump’s promise.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are about 245 million U.S. citizen adults. Giving each of them a $5,000 check would cost about $1.2 trillion.

…..

Trump promised to give Americans $2,000 tariff dividend checks last November. Checks never went out.

The Tax Foundation, at the time, published a report saying U.S. tariff revenue would not be able to cover the $280- to $607 billion cost of the dividend checks. The foundation estimated that Trump’s tariffs would generate about $158 billion in revenue in 2025 and $208 billion in 2026.

The analysis was made before the Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s tariffs in February.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Trump imposed a global 10% tariff.

The cost of the $5,000 checks would spend “almost all the revenue that the new tariffs are projected to bring in *over a decade*,” Erica York, senior economist at the Tax Foundation wrote Wednesday in a post on X after Trump’s latest announcement.

In other words, it’s not going to happen, even if the GOP somehow does manage to keep their majorities in the House and Senate.

Asked– yes or no– if he supported the plan, Cline dodged and weaved as we’ve seen him do whenever he is confronted with uncomfortable questions. And he managed to blame current inflation on the Biden administration, which left office almost two years ago.

It’s another reminder of why he continues to dodge genuine debates with his Democratic opponent Beth Macy.

The questioning is worth watching in its entirety, including the final words from Congressman McGovern:

This new promise to hand out $5,000 checks to every American, I think we all know is never gonna happen, just like some of his other promises. And I think it’s cruel. I think it’s really cruel. People are struggling, and I bet some families may hear the president promise them $5,000 and then actually plan around that money because they’d like to think the president is actually speaking the truth. You know, maybe they’re now planning to get that medical procedure that they otherwise could not afford or, or, or believe they will finally be able to pay off their credit card and have enough, uh, food to feed their family next month. It is wrong to make promises like that, and when it’s conditioned on the outcome of an election, I think it is outrageous and I think it is corrupt.