WASHINGTON– House Speaker Mike Johnson negotiates with the White House as he prepares for the perilous task of advancing wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel through the House, a senior House Republican said Thursday.
Republican leader in the House Steve Scalise told reporters that Johnson had discussed with White House officials a package that would deviate from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security agenda and include several Republican demands. It comes after Johnson delayed for months the advancement of aid that would provide ammunition and weapons that kyiv desperately needs, trying to find the right time to advance a package that will be a painful political lift.
“No agreement has been reached,” Scalise said. “Obviously there would have to be an agreement not only with the White House, but also with our own members.”
Johnson, R-La., is torn between a Republican conference deeply divided over its support for Ukraine, as well as two presidential candidates at odds over the United States’ stance toward the rest of the world. President Joe Biden has repeatedly chastised Republicans for failing to help Ukraine, saying they were carrying out orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin and harming U.S. security. In the meantime, Donald Trumpthe presumptive Republican nominee, said he would negotiate an end to the conflict while trying to push the United States to adopt a more isolationist stance.
The Republican president is scheduled to travel to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday to meet with Trump and has consulted with him in recent weeks on funding Ukraine to gain his support — or at least the prevent open opposition to it. the packet.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who often works closely with House lawmakers, said this week that he and Trump had discussed “in depth” with Johnson about how to advance aid to Ukraine. It’s unclear whether Trump would provide political support, but Mullin said he hopes the former president supports the package, especially now that Johnson’s job is on the line.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, threatened to try to oust Johnson as president and warned that increased funding for Ukraine would help bolster her argument that state lawmakers GOP should choose a new president.
Meanwhile, Johnson has discussed legislation with the White House that would structure some of kyiv’s financing as loans, pave the way for the United States to tap the Russian central bank’s frozen assets and include other policy changes.
Johnson also pushed for the Biden administration to lift the pause on approvals for liquefied natural gas exports. At times, he also demanded policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The world is becoming more dangerous with Russia in kyiv,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who favors aid to Ukraine. “So we just have to find a smart way to get a bill passed so we can introduce it and send it back to the Senate.”
Yet Johnson faces virtually open rebellion from a group of radical House conservatives unhappy with the way he has run the House. With a narrow and divided majority, Johnson was forced to work with Democrats to advance virtually every major piece of legislation.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday that the “only way forward” for the House is a vote on the Senate’s national security package. He also suggested that Democrats would help Johnson keep the speaker’s gavel if he did so.
Even though Democrats have pressured Johnson to bring the bill to the Senate floor, they may also be divided on the vote, as a growing number of them oppose sending offensive weapons to Israel as it engages in a campaign in Gaza that has killed thousands of civilians.
The Biden administration, which would manage any military funding, has sternly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that future U.S. support depends on the rapid implementation of new measures to protect civilians and aid workers.
“If we want to stop Putin from winning a victory in Europe, the House should do the right thing for democracy and pass the Senate’s aid package now,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday. in a speech.
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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed.
