House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he would do so. try to help during the war for Israel this week as it tries to accomplish the difficult task of winning House approval of a national security package that also includes funding for Ukraine and its allies in Asia.
Johnson, Republic of Louisiana, is already under enormous political pressure from his fellow GOP lawmakers as he tries to balance divided GOP support for helping Kyiv defend against Moscow’s invasion. The Republican speaker sat in session for two months Additional package worth $95 billion it would provide support to US allies, as well as provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, as well as funding to resupply US weapons provided to Taiwan.
unprecedented attack Iran’s move on Israel early Sunday added further pressure on Johnson but also gave him an opportunity to stress the urgency of approving the funding.
Johnson said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures that he and Republicans “understand the need to support Israel” and that he would seek to provide assistance this week.
“The details of this package are currently being worked out,” he said. “We are looking at options and all these additional questions.”
GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Johnson has “made clear” that he sees a path for funding Israel, Ukraine and allies in Asia to come to House Floor this week.
The speaker expressed support for the bill, which would structure part of Kyiv’s financing in the form of loans, open the way for the United States to use frozen assets of the Russian central bank and include other policy changes. Johnson has pressed the Biden administration to lift the pause on liquefied natural gas export permits and has also at times demanded policy changes at the U.S. border with Mexico.
But for now, the only package with broad bipartisan support in Congress is the Senate-passed bill, which includes roughly $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby urged the speaker to put the package “on the floor as soon as possible.”
“We didn’t need any reminders of what was going on in Ukraine,” Kirby said on NBC. “But last night certainly significantly underscores the threat that Israel faces in a very, very tough neighborhood.”
While Johnson is looking for a way to increase funding for Ukraine, he in conversations like with the White House and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Because his job is in jeopardy Johnson went to Florida on Friday at an event with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club. Trump expressed support for Johnson and said he has a “very good relationship” with him.
“He and I are 100% aligned on these important agenda items,” Johnson said. “When you talk about aid to Ukraine, he introduced the concept of credit leasing, which is really important and I think has a lot of consensus.”
But Trump’s “America First” agenda has inspired many Republicans to push for a more isolationist stance. Support for Ukraine has steadily eroded in the roughly two years since the war began, and a cause that once enjoyed broad support has become one of Johnson’s most challenging issues.
When he returns to Washington on Monday, Johnson will also face a contingent of conservatives already unhappy with the way he has led the House in maintaining much of the status quo on both government spending and, more recently, the US government’s surveillance tool .
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a right-wing Republican from Georgia, called for Johnson’s resignation. She left the Capitol on Friday, telling reporters that support for her efforts was growing.
While no other Republican has openly joined Greene, a growing number of conservative conservatives have openly disparaged Johnson and challenged his leadership.
Meanwhile, senior GOP lawmakers who support Ukraine aid are growing increasingly frustrated with the months-long wait for the House to take up the issue. Kyiv’s troops are running low on ammunition and Russia is emboldened as it seeks to gain a foothold in its spring and summer offensive. Massive missile and drone attack destroyed one of the largest power plants in Ukraine and damaged others last week.
“Russia is beginning to strengthen its position. Ukraine is starting to lose its ability to defend itself,” Turner said. “The United States must step forward and provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs.”
Divided dynamics forced Johnson to try to cobble together a package that would provide some policy victories for Republicans while keeping Democrats on board. Democrats, however, have repeatedly called on the speaker to nominate $95 billion package passed Senate in February on the floor.
Although progressive Democrats resisted supporting aid to Israel due to concerns that Israel would support its campaign in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians, a majority of House Democrats refused to support the Senate package.
“The reason the Senate bill is the only one is because of its urgency,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week. “We pass the bill in the Senate, it goes straight to the president’s desk, and you immediately start receiving aid to Ukraine. This is the only option.”
Many Democrats have also signaled they would likely be willing to help Johnson thwart an attempt to remove him as speaker if he brings the bill to the Senate floor for debate.
“I’m one of the people who would save it if we could get Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine and some reasonable border security,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat.