Mike Johnson (R-LA) scrapped the foreign aid package passed by the Senate. The speaker of the House of Representatives anticipated that a vote would not advance the legislation that contemplates, among other things, 95 billion dollars for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Within hours of the failure of the border agreement promoted by the leadership, the Senate advanced the million-dollar foreign aid package. The bipartisan vote ended with 67 votes in favor and 32 against, thus sending the bill directly to Johnson's territory.
The House speaker released a statement Monday condemning the legislation and explaining why he would not push for a vote.
My statement on Senate’s failure to address the most critical aspect of national security supplemental legislation: pic.twitter.com/ENjJ0WzKsK
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 13, 2024
Specifically, he targeted the exclusion of provisions to improve border security. "The Senate's foreign aid bill is silent on the most pressing issue facing our country," Johnson began.
"[I]n the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters. America deserves better than the Senate's status quo," added the Republican, who was legislatively hit after the failure of the impeachment vote against Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security.
The aid package that angered Johnson
The Senate recently approved a $95 billion aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which would simultaneously fund Indo-Pacific security and humanitarian assistance for civilians around the world.
The vote ended with 67 in favor, included, and 32 against. 17 Republican senators joined all Democrats to support the project. They were Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX ), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Tom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Todd Young (R-IN). In turn, independent Bernie Sanders opposed the legislation.
