House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he would Efforts to promote wartime aid This week, Israel is trying to complete the difficult task of winning House approval of a national security package that also includes funding for Ukraine and allies in Asia.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has huge political pressure He tried to play with Republican lawmakers as he tried to maneuver between divided Republican support for helping Kyiv defend itself from an invasion by Moscow.Republican speaker has been sitting for two months $95 billion supplementary plan This would provide support to U.S. allies and provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as funding to replenish U.S. weapons supplies to Taiwan.
this unprecedented attack Iran’s attack on Israel early Sunday further increased pressure on Johnson but also gave him an opportunity to stress the urgency of approving the funds.
Johnson told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that he and Republicans “understand the need to stand with Israel” and that he will try to push for aid this week.
“Details of the plan are now being sorted out,” he said. “We’re looking at options and all these supplementary issues.”
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Johnson “has made it clear” that he sees a path to funding Israel, Ukraine and allies in Asia. floor.
The spokesman expressed support for legislation that would provide some of the money as a loan to Kyiv, pave the way for the United States to tap frozen Russian central bank assets and include other policy changes. Johnson has urged the Biden administration to lift its pause on liquefied natural gas export approvals and at times called for changes in policy at the U.S.-Mexico border.
But currently, the only package in Congress with broad bipartisan support is the Senate-passed bill, which includes about $60 billion for Ukraine and about $14 billion for Israel.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby called on the speaker to put the package on the floor “as soon as possible.”
“We don’t need any reminders about what’s going on in Ukraine,” Kirby said on NBC. “But last night really highlighted the threats that Israel faces in a very, very difficult neighborhood.”
As Johnson looks for a way to get money to Ukraine, he’s been In conversations with the White House and Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump.
Since his job is threatened, Johnson heads to Florida Join Trump for an event at his Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trump expressed support for Johnson and said he had a “very good relationship” with him.
“He and I are 100 percent aligned on these major agenda items,” Johnson said. “When you talk about aid to Ukraine, he introduced the loan-to-lease concept, which is a very important concept and I think there’s a lot of consensus.”
But Trump’s “America First” agenda has inspired many Republicans to push for a more isolationist stance. Support for Ukraine has declined in the roughly two years since the war began, and a cause that once enjoyed widespread support has become one of Johnson’s thorniest issues.
When Johnson returns to Washington on Monday, he will also face a group of conservatives already angry that he has led the House to maintain much of the status quo on government spending and, most recently, U.S. government surveillance tools.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, right-wing Republican congresswoman from Georgia Calls for Johnson to step down. She told reporters as she left the Capitol on Friday that support for her efforts was growing.
While no other Republicans have publicly endorsed Greene, a growing number of hardline conservatives have publicly disparaged Johnson and scorned his leadership.
Meanwhile, top Republican lawmakers who support aid to Ukraine are growing increasingly frustrated with the months-long wait to bring it to the House floor. Kiev’s army is already running low on ammunition and Russia is becoming bolder as it looks to make headway in its spring and summer offensive.Massive missile and drone attacks Destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants Others were damaged last week.
“Russia is starting to make gains. Ukraine is starting to lose its ability to defend itself,” Turner said. “The United States must step up and provide Ukraine with the weapons they need.”
The divide has forced Johnson to try to put together a package that would win some policy wins for Republicans while also keeping Democrats in the fold.However, Democrats have repeatedly called on the speaker to $95 billion package passed The Senate considered it in February.
Most House Democrats backed the Senate package, although progressive Democrats declined to support aid to Israel out of concern it would bolster Israel’s push into Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians.
“The Senate bill is the only bill because of its urgency,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week. “We passed the Senate bill, it goes directly to the president’s desk, and you can start sending aid to Ukraine immediately. That’s the only option.”
Many Democrats have also said they might be willing to help Johnson defeat efforts to oust him from the speaker’s office if he brings the Senate bill to the Senate floor.
“I’m one of the people who would save him if we could address Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine and some reasonable border security concerns,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.
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