House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that lawmakers would vote this week on a national security spending package that would provide crucial aid to countries like Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. He outlined his plan to move forward on the issue after months of stagnation.
Johnson, who leads the Republican majority in the House, said he refuses to allow a vote on the $95 billion aid package approved in February by the Senate. However, he proposed dividing the project into several parts and voting on each part separately to proceed with the vote.
"We won't be voting on the Senate supplemental in its current form, but we will vote on each of these measures separately in four different pieces," he said.
I have just spoken with the @HouseGOP conference on my plan to address national security supplemental legislation on the growing security crises.
This week, we will consider separate bills with a structured and germane amendment process to:•Fund our ally Israel
•Support…— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) April 15, 2024
The speaker announced that voting could take place on Friday night. However, the process could be delayed as members will be allowed to offer amendments.
"We know that the world is watching us to see how we react. We have terrorists and tyrants and terrible leaders around the world(...) and they’re watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and our interests around the globe, and we will," he asserted.
Although it is unclear whether his strategy will be successful, the proposal marks a significant change in Johnson's stance. He had previously opposed a separate vote on aid to Ukraine. However, his decision comes after an unprecedented attack by Iran against Israel over the weekend, which has increased the urgency of the situation.
As a measure to secure support from Republicans who are reluctant to support more aid to Kyiv, Johnson also suggested considering legislation in which some of the funds earmarked for international assistance would be repaid in the future, and others would be financed by selling frozen Russian assets. Additionally, a bill to ban TikTok, a measure that has broad bipartisan support in the House, would be included in the package.
"I do expect that this will be done this week, and we’ll be able to leave knowing that we’ve done our job," he added.
