House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday he plans to move forward this week with a long-stalled national security spending plan to aid Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies, while also crafting a separate package aimed at placating conservatives fiercely opposed to backing Kyiv. bill.
The announcement was the first concrete sign that Johnson has a clear path forward after weeks of agonizing over whether and how to move forward with injecting critical aid into Ukraine amid fierce Republican resistance. Calls for Congress to act quickly to approve the pending aid bill are growing louder days after Iran launched a massive airstrike on Israel.
Walking out of a meeting where he briefed Republicans Mr. Johnson said he would piece together a legislative package that would be broadly similar to the $95 billion aid bill the Senate passed two months ago but would be broken into three parts. Lawmakers will vote separately on a bill to provide funding for Israel, a bill to provide funding for Ukraine, and a bill to provide aid to Taiwan and other allies. They will put up a fourth vote on a separate measure that includes other policies popular with Republicans.
“The general concept is the same as the bill that passed the Senate,” Johnson said. “The funds are going to be sent to the same places and you’ll see what the House thinks about that.”
Additionally, the House of Representatives will consider legislation that would require repayment of some aid to Ukraine and raise some of the funds through the sale of frozen Russian sovereign assets.The plan also includes a bill that would ban TikTok The House of Representatives passed it overwhelmingly last month, but has been mired in the Senate ever since.
It’s unclear whether the convoluted strategy will succeed in the House, where Johnson holds a razor-thin seat and holds a slim majority in the divided chamber. Its success will require a complex mix of bipartisan coalitions around every part of the package. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (Majority Leader) and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell (Minority Leader) both urged Johnson to pass the Senate-passed aid package as is.
But some Republicans say it would be better to break the package into separate bills. Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, whose members are mostly House Republicans, gave an early endorsement of the plan at the end of the meeting .
“I think the speaker is doing the right thing,” Mr Hearn told reporters.
In recent weeks, Mr Johnson has spoken publicly and privately swear often to ensure that the House of Representatives takes action to aid Ukraine. Facing strong Republican opposition to aid to Kyiv and Ukraine, he struggled to find a way to structure a foreign aid package that would secure enough support in the House. Democrats are increasingly skeptical Provide unrestricted military aid to Israel.
Hanging above his head is Threat of eviction Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia had previously vowed to take action to oust Johnson if he provided funds to Ukraine without comprehensive concessions from Democrats on border security.
After Monday’s closed-door briefing, Green expressed anger at Johnson’s plan. But she told reporters she had not yet decided whether to force a vote to remove the speaker.
“This is a scam and people have had enough,” she said.
Johnson has been increasingly vocal about the urgency of providing aid to Kyiv, arguing that the United States has a role to play in repelling a Russian invasion.
“We understand the role the United States plays in the world,” he said last month. “We understand the importance of sending a strong message to the world that we stand by our allies and that we cannot allow terrorists and tyrants to spread across the globe.”
Carl Hulls Contributed reporting.
