By STEPHEN GROVES, LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)
The House is moving forward on a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and humanitarian support with help from both parties. The approval from the House could happen this weekend, and then it would move to the Senate.
This week, Speaker Mike Johnson's strategy for the legislation paid off, with the House giving approval to move forward. Johnson had to work hard to secure support for the wartime funding, particularly for Ukraine, and also to maintain his position amid opposition from the right wing of his party. Right now, Ukraine is facing a critical moment in its battle against Russia.Johnson has been working to combat misinformation about the aid package, especially for Ukraine's dire need for assistance and the global implications of the situation.
Johnson emphasized the urgent need for lethal aid for Ukraine and the serious global implications of allowing Russia to invade another country, during an interview with the conservative host of The Mark Levin Show.
He stressed the urgent need for lethal aid for Ukraine to prevent Vladimir Putin from conquering another country, emphasizing the serious global implications of the situation.
Once Johnson made a decision to move forward this week, the House worked steadily. President Joe Biden quickly endorsed the speaker's plan, and even Donald Trump, who usually opposes foreign aid for Ukraine, did not interfere with Johnson's work. President Joe Biden promptly supported the speaker's plan, and even Donald Trump, who typically opposes most foreign aid for Ukraine, did not disrupt Johnson's efforts. The White House stated, “The world is paying attention to the actions of Congress. Passing this legislation would show strong American leadership at a crucial moment.”
The White House indicated that passing this legislation would demonstrate strong American leadership at a critical time.
Late Thursday, in a rare move, the House Rules Committee members, including four Democrats, united to advance the package to the House floor for debate in a vote of 9-3.
On Friday, Johnson will need support from Democrats to move forward with the next procedural vote and defeat amendments from Republicans that could jeopardize the package, such as one from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wants to eliminate spending for Ukraine.
Greene is trying to remove the speaker from office and has gained support from at least one other Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. This effort could lead to Johnson's removal, similar to how the Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy last fall.
Johnson's narrow House majority forces him to seek votes from Democrats to pass any bill, leading to collaboration between the two parties.
Because Johnson doesn't have the full support of his Republican majority, he can't create the package as the extremely conservative members want without risking losing Democratic support. This has led him to abandon strict security measures for controlling immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and other important matters.
The most Johnson has managed to do is split a version of the bill passed in the Senate into separate parts, as House Republicans prefer, and the final votes will be on distinct measures — for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies.
The package would also have a fourth part with many Republican priorities that Democrats agree with, or at least are willing to accept. These include proposals that allow the U.S. to take frozen Russian central bank assets to help Ukraine; impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl, and potentially ban the video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake within a year. potentially ban the video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year.
Passing each bill, in votes expected Saturday, will require Johnson to form complicated bipartisan coalitions on each, with Democrats for example ensuring Ukraine aid is approved, but some left-leaning progressives refusing to back military aid for Israel over the destruction of Gaza.
The components would then be automatically stitched back together into a single package sent to the Senate where hardliners there are also planning procedural moves to stall final approval.
