“The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed,” Biden said in a statement.
Johnson on Wednesday released the legislative text for three bills that would combine military assistance to Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Indo-Pacific with humanitarian aid for Gaza and other global hot spots — a high-stakes moment for the Speaker as he barrels into the politically prickly topic of sending aid overseas.
The trio of bills are part of his plan for moving foreign aid through the House, a process that has been delayed for months amid other pressing priorities and stalled this week as his initial proposal faced intense backlash from the right flank.
But Johnson, facing pressure from lawmakers in both parties, the White House and Ukrainian officials, vowed to move forward with his proposal, defying the outrage from his right flank.
Johnson told GOP lawmakers in a text message Wednesday morning that he also plans to unveil text for a fourth bill that includes other national security priorities designed to sweeten the deal for wary conservatives in his conference, including:
- TikTok ban
- A provision to help pay for aid by using seized Russian assets
- Sanctions and other measures to confront Russia, China and Iran.
Those four measures will move under one procedural rule that will allow for an amendment process, Johnson said.
But in a twist from the Speaker’s initial plan, the outline of which he unveiled Monday night, Johnson said he will move a border security measure separate from the foreign aid bills — a decision that is meant to appease conservatives who were up in arms that the priority was at first excluded. That legislation will include “core components” from H.R. 2, the border security bill House Republicans approved last year, he told members.
Johnson said he is eyeing a Saturday evening vote on the foreign aid legislation.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
