Aid to Ukraine, stalled for months, heads for vote in the House of Representatives

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a foreign aid bill that includes a bill for Ukraine on Saturday, Speaker Mike Johnson announced.

In a memo sent to House Republicans, Johnson said four bills will be brought to the floor, in addition to another border security bill.

The bill includes funding not only for Israel but also for the Indo-Pacific region, but aid to Ukraine is the most politically charged.

The Republican opposition has stalled potential aid to Ukraine for months as right-wing Republican lawmakers seek to link it to tighter immigration controls.

Some lawmakers have already condemned Johnson’s plan, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wants to remove him from the speakership. With Republicans holding the smallest House majority in decades, Mr. Johnson may have to appeal to Democrats to get the bill passed.

Meanwhile, bills from Democrats and some centrist Republicans have been pushing for early passage of the Ukraine aid for months, saying it is essential to Ukraine’s defense against Russia and U.S. national security.

Mr Johnson’s announcement on Wednesday came more than two months after the US Senate passed a $95bn (£76.3bn) bill containing a range of support measures.

The new plan splits the support package into separate bills, which Mr Johnson said would include “strengthening financing structures, strategies and accountability for support”.

The Ukraine bill, which totals nearly $61 billion in aid, includes weapons and other “lethal support” for the Ukrainian military. It would also require cost-matching requirements from other U.S. allies and repayment agreements from the Ukrainian government.

The Israel-focused bill would provide $26 billion in part to replenish the Iron Dome and David Sling defense systems, according to the House, while the Indo-Pacific bill would primarily restrict China and Taiwan’s It is said to be aimed at helping fend off “military provocations.” Leader of the Appropriations Committee.

The fourth bill, included in the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity Act for Ukrainians (Repo Law), would allow the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine and is aimed at cracking down on TikTok. It is also a bill that

Mr. Johnson later put together a separate bill that would strengthen security measures at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The bill includes a “core elements” bill known as HR2, which was passed in the Republican-controlled House last year over significant Democratic opposition, he said. HR2 stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Members of the staunchly conservative Freedom Caucus oppose Mr. Johnson’s foreign aid plan, primarily over border security.

“The Republican Speaker of the House is pushing for rules to pass nearly $100 billion in foreign aid targeted at undeniably dangerous criminals and terrorists. [and] Fentanyl is flowing across the border,” Freedom Caucus member and Texas Republican Chip Roy wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“The border ‘votes’ in this package are watered down and dangerous hidden votes,” Roy added. “I object.”

Mr. Johnson is under increasing pressure from the right wing of the Republican Party, which is unhappy with his support for foreign aid and negotiations with Democrats.

Two conservative senators, Republican Thomas Massey of Kentucky and Greene of Georgia, have called on him to resign or file a motion to resign, which could lead to his ouster. be.

“Continuing to rely on Democrats to pass legislation is way out of sync with Republicans,” Greene wrote in a post to herself on X on Wednesday. “Everyone sees through this.”

But Mr Johnson told reporters earlier this week that “the world is watching to see how we respond” and vowed to press ahead with foreign aid.

“There are terrorists and tyrants and terrible leaders around the world, like Putin and Xi, and Iran,” he said. “I am doing so,” he said. “And we will.”

He also fended off threats that he would be removed from his position.

“I’m not spending my time worrying about eviction motions,” he said Monday night. “We have to govern here and we’re going to do our job.”