WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson is negotiating with the White House as he prepares for the treacherous task of advancing wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel through the House, a top House Republican said Thursday.
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise told reporters that Johnson had been talking with White House officials about a package that would deviate from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security package and include several Republican demands.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who often works closely with House lawmakers, said this week he and Trump have spoken with Johnson “in depth” about how to advance Ukraine aid.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has threatened to try to oust Johnson as speaker and warned that advancing funding for Ukraine would help build her case that GOP lawmakers should select a new speaker.
Johnson has also been pushing for the Biden administration to lift a pause on approvals for Liquefied Natural Gas exports.
“This becomes a more dangerous world with Russia in Kyiv,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who supports aiding Ukraine.
With a narrow and divided majority, Johnson has been forced to work with Democrats to advance practically any major legislation.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday that the “only path forward” for the House was a vote on the Senate’s national security package.
WASHINGTON — A top House Republican said on Thursday that House Speaker Mike Johnson is in talks with the White House in order to get ready for the difficult task of pushing wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel through the House.
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise informed reporters that Johnson and White House representatives were discussing a package that would differ from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security bill and incorporate a number of Republican demands. It comes after Johnson postponed aid that would have given Kyiv much-needed weapons and ammunition for months in an attempt to time the delivery of a package that would require a difficult political lift.
Scalise declared, “There’s been no agreement reached.”. It would be necessary to come to an agreement with our own members as well as the White House. “.
Johnson, Louisiana Republican. is being squeezed between two presidential candidates at odds over the U.S. policy and a Republican conference sharply split over support for Ukraine. s. is stance with respect to the global community. President Joe Biden has criticized Republicans time and time again for failing to support Ukraine, claiming that they are harming the United States at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. s. safeguarding. As he attempts to press the U.S. government to end the conflict, Donald Trump, the presumed Republican nominee, has stated he would negotiate a settlement. S. to adopt a more segregated posture.
The speaker of the House of Representatives has been consulting with President Trump on the funding for Ukraine in an effort to win his support, or at the very least keep him from publicly opposing the package. He is scheduled to meet with Trump on Friday at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Sen. The Republican representative from Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, who frequently collaborates with members of the House, stated this week that he and Trump have had “in-depth” conversations with Johnson regarding the advancement of aid for Ukraine. Although it is unclear if Trump would offer any political support, Mullin stated that he was hoping to win the former president over to the package—particularly now that Johnson’s job is in jeopardy.
Rep. Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has hinted that she may attempt to unseat Johnson as speaker and that supporting funding for Ukraine would strengthen her argument that the GOP should choose a new leader.
Johnson has been in talks with the White House concerning legislation that would allow the U.S. to establish loans for a portion of the funding for Kyiv. s. to access assets held by the Russian central bank that have been placed on hold and implement additional policy modifications.
The Biden administration has been under pressure from Johnson to end the moratorium on export permits for liquefied natural gas. He has occasionally also called for modifications to U.S. policy. S. boundary forming with Mexico.
With Russia in Kiev, the world becomes more dangerous, according to Rep. Republican who favors helping Ukraine is Don Bacon. Therefore, all we need to do is figure out a clever strategy for passing a bill that will allow us to return to the Senate. “.
Nevertheless, a group of hardline House conservatives who are unhappy with Johnson’s leadership of the House are practically in open revolt. Johnson has been compelled to collaborate with Democrats in order to create almost any significant legislation because of his small and divided majority.
The Senate’s national security bill is the “only path forward” for the House, according to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who stated as much on Thursday. Additionally, he implied that Democrats would support Johnson in keeping the speaker’s gavel if he did.
Democrats may split on a vote because a growing number of them are against sending offensive weapons to Israel while it is waging a campaign in Gaza that has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, despite the fact that they have pressured Johnson to put the Senate package to a vote.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received harsh warnings from the Biden administration, which would oversee any military funding, that future U.S. S. Support is contingent upon new measures to safeguard civilians and aid workers being put into place quickly.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made the following statement on Thursday: “The House should do the right thing for democracy and pass the Senate’s aid package now if we want to prevent handing Putin a victory in Europe.”
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