OAN’s James Meyers
8:15 AM – Tuesday, April 16, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson has revealed an outline of his plan to advance foreign aid to Taiwan, Israel, Ukraine and other national security priorities in four separate bills that he claimed will all get votes before the end of the week.
The bills include implementing a loan-lease program for Ukraine aid, which entails lending Ukraine money seized by Russian assets, and imposing more sections on Iran.
However, the plan has received criticism from other Republican lawmakers who have stated that any additional Ukraine aid should be accompanied by tougher security on the U.S.-Mexico border, which has been excluded from Johnson’s (R-La.) proposals, raising the credibility of the current Speaker’s plans.
“A lot of conservatives are very upset about how this is going down,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). “He’s literally broken his promise.”
Johnson rolled out the separate bills idea on Monday during a closed-door House GOP conference meeting in the Capitol basement.
The current plan is to move a procedural rule governing all four bills, with each proposal being voted on separately, in comparison to the Senate’s $95 billion foreign aid legislation that combined multiple elements into a single package.
Additionally, the fourth national security-related bill would also include a TikTok ban and convertible loans for humanitarian relief, according to multiple GOP members.
Johnson also allowed lawmakers to pick and choose which bills they want to support and not support, while also allowing amendments to be offered on each proposal.
“My phone melted over the weekend, with all the members letting me know all of their ideas,” Johnson told reporters after the closed-door meeting. “There was a consensus that was recognized, in my view, from all the opinions that were shared, and that is that it really was the will of my colleagues to vote on these measures independently and not have them all sandwiched together as the Senate had done.”
“We will follow the germaneness rules of the House of course and the regular rules with regard to amendments,” he added. “But I think the final product will be something that everybody can take confidence in because they got to vote their district and vote their conscience.”
Democrats have also expressed concerns about Johnson’s proposals due to saying Ukraine is on their last leg in the war and both chambers will be on recess next week.
“They haven’t come up with [legislation] yet, and we don’t have time. We don’t. So I’m highly skeptical,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. “Ukraine’s on life support, and it’s like they’re getting ready to pull the plug here. Not even so much pulling the plug. They’re tripping over the plug. It’s not even necessarily intentional, it’s just not understanding the seriousness of the situation and the importance of the timing.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) also urged Republican leaders to hold onto the foreign aid bills, even if they are passed to force Democrats in the upper chamber to adopt the House-passed border security reforms, which Johnson excluded from the foreign aid debate.
“We should not send over any aid to any other countries until the Senate takes up HR-2,” Gaetz said afterward, referring to a GOP border bill passed through the House last year.
Furthermore, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) also warned after the announcement of the proposals that he would stop his support of Johnson if it does not include border security measures.
“Border security is the No. 1 issue in the country. And for this town to be totally focused on Ukraine while they continue to ignore our southern border is atrocious, and it’s a slap in the face of the American people,” Donalds said.
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