At a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference Monday, Speaker Mike Johnson committed to putting the stalled $96 billion foreign aid bill for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine on the floor for a vote on Friday evening.
This bill has been the source of much controversy since it passed the Senate in February. While a small number of Republicans have balked at helping Ukraine defend itself, The Squad and its allies don’t want to send aid to Israel once again, demonstrating the Horseshoe Theory at work.
BACKGROUND:
Speaker Johnson Confirms the $96 Billion Israel-Taiwan-Ukraine Aid Bill Will Get a Vote Very Soon
$96 Billion Ukraine-Israel Assistance Bill Clears Major Senate Hurdle
Ukraine-Israel Aid Package Clears the Senate and Heads to the House
House Speaker Mike Johnson Effectively Kills Senate Supplemental Ukraine Aid Bill
Mike Johnson Holds the Line As GOP Senators Pressure Him to Bring Ukraine Bill to the House Floor
Speaker Johnson Tells Colleagues He’ll Allow a Vote on the Ukraine Aid Bill in April
The plan is to introduce the three aid packages as separate bills, but the same rules will cover them. To make this happen, the Rules Committee will have to approve it, and Democrats will need to consent. At present, Johnson says he intends to allow some number of amendments to be offered to each bill.
A fourth bill that is not an aid bill will be included in the package.
A fourth bill would include a mix of other policies favored by the GOP. These are the REPO Act, which would allow the U.S. to sell seized Russian sovereign assets; the House-passed TikTok ban bill; a Lend-Lease Act for military aid; and convertible loans for economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
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This move was foreshadowed over the weekend during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Future,” where he said that Ukraine aid had former President Trump’s blessing.
Mike Johnson to Maria Bartiromo on Trump: “I had a great visit with him at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, and he and I are 100 percent united on these big agenda items.” pic.twitter.com/UmvT7VMIos
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2024
BACKGROUND: Donald Trump Offers Speaker Johnson a Fig Leaf of Respectability on Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan Aid Package
The Ukraine aid package is anticipated to require the White House to present a strategy for Ukrainian victory, require the US to release longer-range weapons to Ukraine, reinstate the lapsed lend-lease program, and create a class of loans that can be converted to grants.
Johnson doesn’t seem to have received much opposition to his plan. Republican Study Committee chairman Kevin Hern and Arizona Republican Andy Biggs agree with the process.
Not everyone is happy, though.
It’s antisemitic to make Israeli aid contingent on funding Ukrainian Nazis.
These should be separate bills.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 14, 2024
Iran says they are going to attack Israel soon and we’ve know all week.
Speaker Johnson could have brought a stand alone Israel aid package to the floor this week.
But instead will likely tie Israel aid to $60 billion for Ukraine next week after Israel has already been attacked…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 12, 2024
What makes this so rich is that Greene voted against a standalone Israel aid package in February.
The vote is contingent upon the bill’s text being made available to members by Tuesday evening.
