House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that the House will vote on aid to Israel in the coming days, and he suggested that aid to Ukraine could be included in the legislation.
“House Republicans and Republicans understand the need to stand with Israel,” Johnson said on Fox News, noting that he had previously introduced two aid bills to help America’s allies. “We’re going to try again this week and the details of the plan are being sorted out. Right now, we’re looking at the options and all those supplementary issues.”
U.S. funding for Israel, Ukraine snubbed in Congress; Johnson initially rejects $95 billion aid package for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan Senate passedthe Senate refused to accept House Republican proposal Aid to Israel is conditional on domestic spending cuts.
Johnson has repeatedly vowed in recent weeks to ensure the House takes action to aid Ukraine. He has been looking for a way to structure a foreign aid package that would garner enough support amid strong Republican resistance to aid to Kyiv and Ukraine. Opposition grows among Democrats Provide unrestricted military aid to Israel.
But attacks from Iran have increased pressure on Johnson to come up with some kind of package this week, potentially forcing him to make a decision he has been grappling with for weeks.
He did not make it clear on Sunday whether aid to Ukraine would also be included in the legislation the House will advance this week.
Johnson said he believed some of the proposals on Ukraine aid had broad support among House Republicans.He pointed out that he Meet with former President Donald J. Trump on Friday Mr. Trump has long supported treating the aid as loans.
“I think the ideas can be shared and that’s what we’ve been working on,” Mr Johnson said. “We’re going to send out the package. We’re going to put some stuff together and send it to the Senate and complete those obligations.”
Ahead of the weekend attacks in Israel, Mr Johnson once floated privately raise Ukraine and Israel’s $95 billion spending plan The Senate passed the bill in February and it passed the House along with a second bill containing policies supported by conservatives in the party. The plan envisions two back-to-back votes, one on the Senate-passed bill and another on a series of sweeteners aimed at appeasing Republicans otherwise angry at Johnson’s decision to push for a bipartisan aid package for Ukraine .
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday that the two conflicts were closely connected and that he hoped to resolve both issues together. “What happened in Israel last night happens every night in Ukraine,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
McCaul said he had previously received a “commitment” from Johnson that a broad national security bill would be brought to the House for a vote, but the exact timing was unclear.
“My favorite is this week,” he said.
Kim Minho Contributed reporting.
