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On Sunday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) did not say specifically what kind of aid the House would consider, whether it would be combined with the Senate or a stand-alone Israel bill. Instead, he said only that Republicans “will try again this week” to pass some aid for Israel.
“The details of that package are currently being finalized,” Johnson said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” “We’re looking at options and all of these complementary issues.”
House Democrats said they would help the speaker quickly pass any additional packages approved by the Senate, but Johnson said the House could pass the Senate bill without adding conditions on border security or how funding would go to Ukraine. They are clearly against considering it, and the two issues are sharply divided. Republican Conference.
Uncertainty over how to deal with the Ukraine funds and threats from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to oust Johnson from the speakership if she gets the vote are causing Republicans to push for a stand-alone Israel bill. That’s why I started doing it. Johnson noted Sunday that one of his first acts as speaker was to pass an Israel funding bill with “offsets” including cuts to the Internal Revenue Service that were supported by a majority of House Republicans. . However, because of this provision, the Senate refused to consider the bill.
in post Full of inflammatory words, Greene said, “There should be a separate bill.” Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky); echoed Mr Green suggested Mr Johnson could face difficulties if he tried to pass additional legislation in the House of Commons rules committee, which includes Mr Massey and two far-right MPs.
Prime Minister Johnson then tried to pass a simple Israel bill, pending months ago, as far-right members of his party objected to the lack of IRS cuts, but the bill did not include humanitarian aid, so The effort failed to garner enough support from Democrats. Democrats also wanted to lose influence by passing an Israel-only bill and not have another mechanism to secure funding for Ukraine.
Republican national security officials are scheduled to meet with Mr. Johnson later Sunday to brainstorm a way forward, but he has eclipsed his colleagues by calling for the passage of legislation to help foreign allies facing immediate threats. I broke up with many.
“I think we’ll have overwhelming support for both Ukraine and Israel and the Asia package, not just because of what’s happening with Iran as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, but because these are allies that need and deserve our support. ,” said the House Intelligence Committee chairman. said Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio).
The House and Senate remain in session for a week before the next scheduled vacation in Washington, adding to the urgency to quickly address this issue. Over the weekend, House Republicans seemed to realize they were running out of time.
Following news of the attack, members of the Republican Study Committee, the largest of the five major factions of the Republican Party’s ideological “family,” met Saturday night during a prescheduled training camp to discuss developments and We discussed how to urgently address this issue. The two leaders agreed that action must be taken immediately to pass a standalone funding bill for Israel once the House returns to Washington this week. The message was relayed to Mr. Johnson, who listened and received feedback from all corners of the meeting, according to people familiar with the meeting and conversations.
By Saturday evening, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said on the “The details of the legislative matters to be considered will be clarified in the future.”
Also on Sunday, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” about his and other national security-adjacent committees in the House. The committee chairman and others said they would meet with Prime Minister Johnson on the 25th. On Sunday evening, plan your course of action for the week. But his goals for the aid package diverge sharply from those of some hardline Republicans.
McCaul stood by his position that the House must fund Ukraine’s war effort alongside Israel’s.
“What happened last night in Israel is happening every night in Ukraine,” McCall said.
Mr. McCall said that launching an attack on Ukraine while securing aid to Israel would be a challenge to Iran, a staunch ally of Russia and one that supplies many of the drones Russia is launching into Ukraine. said it would mean victory. Furthermore, sending aid to Taiwan is essential to countering China’s encroachments on neighboring democracies. A fight against one is also a fight against the other, he argued.
“Do we need to educate our colleagues that they are all connected?” McCall said. “So Iran is selling this to Russia. Who is buying Iranian energy? China.”
He added that Republicans can’t just say, “Iran is bad, Russia is okay, China is bad.”
“We can’t do that. They’re all in this together,” he said.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who has long opposed further aid to Ukraine, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday morning that the U.S., in a Democratic-like manner, “probably supports Ukraine and Israel and our country’s defense needs.” He argued that it was not possible to “support.” Some House Republicans are also demanding this.
“Israel is a closer ally and a more core national security interest of the United States,” he said. “If we pass additional legislation on Ukraine and Israel and send to Ukraine the large amount of weapons that Israel needs, we will actually be weakening Israel in the name of helping them.”
But the $95 billion bill is not mutually exclusive and includes funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The measure would provide Ukraine with about $60 billion in additional aid, much of it in the form of weapons, about $14 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid to Gaza, and Indo-Pacific aid. will be provided with $5 billion.
House Democrats and senators from both parties have been urging the House to adopt the Senate proposal since its passage two months ago. Even before Iran attacked Israel, House Democrats publicly, and some House Republicans privately, warned that Johnson would strike a deal that would appease the fractious Republican conference on such contentious issues. They have argued that there is no way this can be done, much less within a week.
Early Sunday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said any additional legislation approved by the Senate should be passed on Monday.
“The world is on fire. We must stand with our Democratic allies and repel the enemies of freedom,” he posted on X. “The House must pass a bipartisan national security bill. Tomorrow.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has vowed to continue supporting Ukraine and has earned the nickname “Republican in Name Only” by Trump and other far-right Republicans, Even signaled to Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he should ignore the right-wing forces. – Support in-conference opponents and advance Senate confirmation packages.
“The National Security Supplement, which has been waiting for action for months, will provide critical resources to Israel and our forces in the region. It will provide critical overdue support to Ukraine and We will provide equipment to our vulnerable allies and partners in Asia,” McConnell said in a statement Saturday. “The Commander-in-Chief and Congress must fulfill their fundamental duties without delay. The consequences of failure are clear, devastating, and avoidable.”
House Democrats are largely united in their bid to pass the bill in the Senate, launching an expulsion petition last month that would force a vote on the bill if 218 members signed on, overturning Republican leadership’s reluctance to consider it.
Democratic leaders are aiming to get at least 200 signatures because some on the far left oppose funding to Israel and do not support Democrats, according to several Democrats familiar with the discussions. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took the initiative to expand support, winning four more Democrats, including three liberals, and reaching 195 signatures.
Some Republicans have privately said they would sign a bipartisan petition that includes Democratic petitions and border security measures if far-right Republicans block a convention supporting Johnson’s proposal.
But even if Mr. Johnson votes in favor of the Senate bill and Mr. Greene begins the process of removing him from the Senate position, Mr. Jeffries said at a Thursday press conference that “a significant number of Democrats would “You don’t want to see the chairman ousted as a result of his actions.” the right thing. “
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