US Speaker defies far right to push votes on money for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan
By Stephen Groves and Lisa Mascaro
Washington: US House Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled an elaborate plan to split the aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan into separate votes to navigate the House of Representatives’ political divides on foreign policy.
Facing an outright rebellion from conservatives fiercely opposed to aiding Ukraine, the Republican Speaker’s move on the foreign aid package was a potential watershed moment, the first significant action on the bill after more than two months of delay.
Under pressure: Mike Johnson met with Donald Trump in Florida last week.Credit: AP
But Johnson’s intention to hold four separate votes on parts of the package also left it open to being significantly altered from the $US95 billion ($148 billion) aid package the Senate handed the House in February.
It’s unclear if the House could end up with a package that is similar to the Senate’s bill or something significantly different, which could complicate the months-long, painstaking effort to get Congress to approve military funding for Ukraine.
“We will let the House work its will,” Johnson said.
But as the House has struggled to act, conflicts around the world have escalated. Israel’s military chief said on Tuesday (AEST) that his country would respond to Iran’s weekend missile strike.
Ukraine’s military head warned over the weekend that the battlefield situation in the country’s east has “significantly worsened in recent days,” as warming weather allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh offensive.
“There are precipitating events around the globe that we’re all watching very carefully, and we know the world is watching us to see how we react,” Johnson said.
US President Joe Biden, hosting Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the White House, called on the House to take up the Senate funding package immediately. “They have to do it now,” he said.
Democrats in the House could be open to helping Johnson pass the aid in parts, and may even be agreeable to some of the additional measures being discussed by Republicans, such as providing some of the Ukraine economic assistance as loans.
But Johnson would lose the Democratic support he needs if he strays too far into Republican-only priorities. Any overhaul to the package also risks setbacks in the Senate, where a bulk of Republicans oppose the aid for Ukraine and Democrats have become increasingly alarmed at Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Johnson said the proposals would structure some of the funding for Kyiv as loans, allow the US to seize frozen Russian central bank assets, and place other sanctions on Iran.
The GOP meeting was filled with legislators at odds in their approach to the conflict with Russia: Republican defence hawks, including the top politicians on national security committees, are pitted against populist conservatives who are fiercely opposed to continued support for Kyiv’s fight.
As often happens, the meeting turned into a free-for-all of ideas as Republicans tried to put their own stamp on the package but rarely found any unity. Yet Johnson’s plan won over significant Republican support, said Florida Representative Greg Steube as he left the meeting.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “But I’m clearly in the minority.”
Still, Johnson’s support for Ukraine aid could further incite the populist conservatives who are already angry at his direction as Speaker.
Controversial Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is already threatening to oust him as Speaker. As she entered the closed-door Republican meeting on Monday, she said her message to the Speaker was simple: “Don’t fund Ukraine.”
Another unknown was how Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner who has railed against overseas aid, would respond to the proposal. Johnson met with Trump late last week at his club in Florida.
Democrats had pressured Johnson to simply take up the Senate-passed bill that would provide a total of $US95 billion for the US allies, as well as humanitarian support for civilians in Gaza and Ukraine.
“The House must rush to Israel’s aid as quickly as humanly possible, and the only way to do that is passing the Senate’s supplemental ASAP,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries pledged in a letter to lawmakers to do “everything in our legislative power to confront aggression” around the globe, and he cast the situation as similar to the lead-up to World War II.
“The gravely serious events of this past weekend in the Middle East and Eastern Europe underscore the need for Congress to act immediately,” Jeffries said. “We must take up the bipartisan and comprehensive national security bill passed by the Senate forthwith.”
AP
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