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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Johnson makes his long-awaited move on Ukraine as House plans to vote
on separate aid packages
By Melanie Zanona, Manu Raju, Annie Grayer, Haley Talbot and Clare
Foran, CNN
Updated:
10:44 PM EDT, Mon April 15, 2024
Source: CNN
Speaker Mike Johnson announced Monday evening the House will take up
separate bills this week to provide aid for Israel and Ukraine, heeding
demands from the far right to keep the issues separate as the threat of
a vote to oust him from the speakership looms.
The long-awaited decision by Johnson marks a pivotal moment for the
Louisiana Republican as he has faced intense pressure from his
conference over how he would handle foreign aid to the key US allies.
Johnson predicted the House will vote Friday evening on the separate
bills.
“There are precipitating events around the globe that we’re all
watching very carefully,” Johnson told reporters after a GOP
conference meeting Monday evening. “And we know that the world is
watching us to see how we react.”
Despite the speaker’s attempt to thread the needle, however, GOP Rep.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who continues to dangle the threat of a vote on
Johnson’s ouster, was quick to criticize the foreign aid plan.
“I am firmly against the plan as it stands right now,” Greene told
reporters, though when asked whether she would force a vote on the
motion to vacate as a result, she said, “I haven’t decided on that
yet.”
Johnson dismissed concerns over a vote to oust him by his conservative
flank if he moves on aid to Ukraine, telling CNN, “I don’t spend my
time worrying about motions to vacate. We’re having to govern here
and we’re going to do our job.”
In addition to aid for Israel and Ukraine, Johnson said in a post on X
that the bills would support allies in the Indo-Pacific and there would
be additional measures to “counter our adversaries and strengthen our
national security.”
But Republican leaders could still take procedural steps to send all
those pieces as one package to the Senate, which could enrage the right
wing of the House GOP conference.
Johnson left open the possibility that the bills could ultimately be
packaged together, setting up a potential fight with the right flank.
“We’re discussing whether they would be merged together in one
package that’s sent to the Senate or if it goes over as individual
measures,” Johnson said. “My personal preference is to do it
individually, but we’ll let the body decide.”
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, a hardline conservative who had initially
expressed support for Johnson’s approach to foreign aid, pushed back
on the possibility of merging the bills.
“Israel funding should not be held hostage by Ukraine funding. The
American people deserve to know where their senators stand on each
funding component,” he wrote on social media.
Among the ways GOP leaders plan to address Ukraine aid: a bill to seize
Russian assets, a lend-lease program for Ukraine military aid and
convertible loans for humanitarian relief.
Former President Donald Trump, who recently met with House Speaker Mike
Johnson at Mar-a-Lago, has expressed openness to structuring Ukraine
aid as a loan.
GOP Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma told CNN that Johnson is allowing
germane amendment votes on these bills as well – a process that far
right Republicans had been demanding of Johnson.
In the wake of Iran’s , Democrats have called on Johnson to bring up
a Senate-passed foreign aid package that includes aid to Israel and
Ukraine, but hardline conservatives have urged the Louisiana Republican
against attaching Ukraine funding to any Israel aid package – a
warning that comes as the speaker faces the threat of a potential vote
to oust him from his leadership post.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged immediate passage of the
foreign aid package passed by the Senate in a new letter to colleagues.
“The gravely serious events of this past weekend in the Middle East
and Eastern Europe underscore the need for Congress to act immediately.
We must take up the bipartisan and comprehensive national security bill
passed by the Senate forthwith,” Jeffries wrote.
In November, the House to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel,
but Democrats objected to the fact that the bill did not include aid to
Ukraine and would enact funding cuts to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Senate in February – a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill with
assistance for Ukraine, Israel and other priorities.
A significant number of House Republicans are opposed to sending
further aid to Ukraine. Now, Johnson faces the most significant threat
to his speakership to date after GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who
is among those who oppose additional Ukraine aid, filed a motion
against him that could be used to force a vote on his ouster.
Greene told CNN on Monday that Trump’s backing of Johnson during a
Friday press conference will not deter her from moving to oust the
speaker.
“No, no, and as a matter of fact, there’s more people that are
probably going to be angry from whatever happens this week,” she
said.
Later, Greene said, “He’s definitely not going to be speaker next
Congress if we’re lucky enough to have a majority. I think that is a
widely held belief throughout the Congress.”
Asked if she thinks he’ll remain speaker for the remainder of the
current session of Congress, the congresswoman said, “That is to be
determined. Like I said, I’m still processing.”
Johnson called Greene’s decision to file the motion to vacate a
“distraction” during an interview on Fox News.
“That’s a distraction. What Marjorie has done with the motion to
vacate is not helpful for our party, for our mission to save the
country, because if we don’t grow the House majority, keep the House
majority, win the Senate and win back the White House for President
Trump, we’re going to lose the republic,” he said.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
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