Speaker Mike Johnson pushed a $95 billion foreign aid package to passage in the House on Saturday amid threats by the GOP’s far-right flank that it’ll move to oust him over it.
The sweeping package, passed in four separate bills, includes aid funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, along with a fourth measure that sanctions Iran, Russia and China and uses seized Russian assets to pay for some of the Ukraine spending. It also includes a provision requiring the social media company TikTok to divest from China within a year.
The measure now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to vote on it Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said.
President Biden, in a statement, thanked Mr. Johnson and Democrats for passing the legislation, which he said would bolster national security by sending a clear message to adversaries.
“This package will deliver critical support to Israel and Ukraine; provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and other locations impacted by conflicts and natural disasters around the world; and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Mr. Biden said. “It comes at a moment of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine under continued bombardment from Russia.”
Republicans and Democrats voted to pass the House package, but dozens of conservatives opposed the aid measures, and a small group of them are threatening to try to remove Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, is leading the effort to kick out the speaker. Only two other Republican lawmakers have signed on to her effort, but it’s enough to oust him in a floor vote unless some House Democrats vote with most of the GOP to keep him in the speaker’s chair.
Ms. Greene didn’t bring up the arcane motion that could push out Mr. Johnson during Saturday’s legislative business, and she hasn’t indicated when, or if, she’ll do it.
Conservatives who want to boot Mr. Johnson are mostly angry that the foreign aid package isn’t linked to U.S. border security provisions. Ms. Greene said House GOP conservatives “don’t support a business model built on blood and murder and war in foreign countries while this very government does nothing to secure our border.”
Mr. Johnson has so far refused to let their threats weigh on his decision-making, and maintained the same stance after the vote on Saturday.
“I don’t walk around this building being worried about a motion to vacate. I have to do my job,” he said. “We did. I’ve done here what I believe to be the right thing and that is to allow the House to work its will.”
The Ukraine aid passed with bipartisan support, but 112 Republicans, a majority of GOP lawmakers, voted against it.
The House voted to defeat several amendments, including Ms. Green’s provision to kill all of the Ukraine funding and an amendment by Ukraine-born Rep. Victoria Spartz, Indiana Republican, that would have required more congressional oversight of the Ukraine aid disbursement.
The House voted to approve other amendments, including one offered by Rep. Zachary Nunn, Iowa Republican, that requires the Treasury Department to identify Iranian government assets of $5 million or more in the U.S.
House and Senate lawmakers have been negotiating for months to pass legislation to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, which invaded the country in February 2022. Israeli funding was added after Hamas terrorists attacked the country on Oct. 7, triggering the war that was punctuated by Iran‘s drone strikes on Israel. The measure includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $23 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Indo-Pacific allies fending off a looming China.
The U.S. has already provided Ukraine $75 billion, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Republican spending hawks wanted additional Ukraine spending reduced or paid for.
They also wanted the Ukraine funding paired with significant U.S. border security provisions to address the influx of millions of illegal immigrants flooding the U.S.-Mexico border.
But a package with tough border security provisions would have died in the Democrat-led Senate.
Foreign aid money, say proponents, is urgently needed to fight daunting adversaries, likening its importance to when the world was on the precipice of World War II and comparing Iran, Russia and China to a new axis of evil.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole noted that the axis is watching Congress’ actions.
“What will we show them, will we show them that our commitment to security does not stop at the water’s edge?” the Oklahoma Republican said. “Will we show them that we know that the security of our friends and our partners around the globe is our security, or will we fail to take action and in doing so give these powers the same gift that we gave to the fascist powers in the 1930s?”
Mr. Johnson tried to mollify conservatives by offering a separate border security bill based on the House-passed Secure the Border Act.
Democrats blocked the measure, while conservatives called it a fig leaf that excluded key components of the House bill, including one requiring employers to use E-Verify to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants.
Mr. Johnson sought to appease GOP spending hawks by providing the Ukraine aid as a loan. But the measure lets the president, after congressional review, cancel some or all of the debt by 2026.
Some Republicans criticized the Israeli aid package because it includes $9 billion in humanitarian aid they believe could end up in the hands of Hamas. Some Democrats opposed providing additional funding for Israel‘s war against the terrorist group because it has led to thousands of civilian casualties in Gaza.
The Israeli aid package passed 366-58, over the objections of 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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