House Speaker Mike Johnson is negotiating with White House to advance Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson is negotiating with the White House as he prepares for the treacherous task of advancing war funding for Ukraine and Israel through the House of Representatives, a House Republican said Thursday.
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise told reporters that Johnson had spoken to White House officials about a package that would differ from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security package and include several Republican demands. It comes after Johnson delayed for months promoting aid that would bring much-needed ammunition and weapons to Kiev, trying to find the right time to bring forward a package that will be a painful political lift.
“No agreement has been reached,” Scalise said. “It is clear that an agreement must be reached not only with the White House, but also with our own members.”
Johnson, R-La., finds himself caught between a Republican conference deeply divided in its support for Ukraine and two presidential candidates at odds over U.S. attitudes toward the rest of the world. President Joe Biden has repeatedly chastised Republicans for failing to help Ukraine, saying they are following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s orders and harming American security. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has said he would negotiate an end to the conflict as he tries to push the US into a more isolationist stance.
The Republican chairman will travel to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday to meet Trump and has consulted him in recent weeks on financing Ukraine to win his support — or at least prevent it he openly resists. the package.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who often works closely with lawmakers in the House of Representatives, said this week that he and Trump have spoken “in depth” with Johnson about how to advance aid to Ukraine. It’s not clear whether Trump will provide any political support, but Mullin said he hoped to get the former president behind the package, especially with Johnson’s job on the line.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has threatened to try to oust Johnson as speaker and warned that promoting funding for Ukraine would help build her case that Republican lawmakers should choose a new speaker.
Meanwhile, Johnson has been in talks with the White House about legislation that would structure some of the financing for Kiev in the form of loans, pave the way for the US to tap frozen assets of Russia’s central bank and make other policy changes implement.
Johnson has also pushed for the Biden administration to lift the pause on approvals for liquefied natural gas exports. At times he has also demanded policy changes at the U.S. border with Mexico.
“This is going to be a more dangerous world with Russia in Kiev,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who supports aid to Ukraine. “So we just have to find a smart way to get a bill passed so we can send it to the Senate.”
Yet Johnson faces a near-open revolt from a group of House conservatives dissatisfied with the way he has led the House of Representatives. With a narrow and divided majority, Johnson is forced to work with Democrats to advance virtually any major legislation.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday that the “only path forward” for the House of Representatives was a vote on the Senate’s national security package. He also suggested that Democrats would help Johnson hold the gavel if he did so.
While Democrats have pressured Johnson to bring the Senate package to a vote, they may also be divided on the vote as a growing number oppose sending offensive weapons to Israel as the country engages in a campaign in Gaza involving thousands of civilians have died.
The Biden administration, which would control all military funding, has issued stern warnings to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support depends on the rapid implementation of new steps to protect civilians and aid workers.
“If we want to prevent Putin from winning in Europe, the House of Representatives must do the right thing for democracy and pass the Senate relief package now,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech Thursday .
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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed.