House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he will try to provide wartime aid to Israel this week as he attempts the difficult task of getting House approval of a national security package that also includes funding for Ukraine and its allies in Asia.
Johnson (R-Los Angeles) is already under enormous political pressure from fellow GOP lawmakers as he tries to bridge divided GOP support to help Kiev defend itself from Moscow's invasion. The Republican House speaker has sat for two months on a supplemental $95 billion package that would send support to US allies, as well as provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Ukraine and Gaza and funding to replenish US weapons provided to Taiwan.
Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel early Sunday increased pressure on Johnson, but also gave him an opportunity to stress the urgency of approving the funding.
Johnson told Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures” that he and Republicans “understand the need to stand with Israel” and this week he will try to help.
“The details of this package are now being compiled,” he added. “We're looking at options and all of these complementary issues.”
Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that Johnson has “made clear” that he sees a path to funding Israel, Ukraine and its allies in Asia to reach the comprehensive peace agreement. House floor this week.
The spokesman expressed support for legislation that would regulate some of Kiev's financing in the form of loans, pave the way for the United States to benefit from frozen Russian central bank assets and include other policy changes. Johnson has pressed the Biden administration to lift the pause on approvals for liquefied natural gas exports, and at times also called for policy changes on the US border with Mexico.
But for now, the only package with broad bipartisan support in Congress is the Senate-passed bill that includes nearly $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby called on the Speaker of the House of Representatives to put this package “on the ground as soon as possible.”
“We didn't need any reminders in terms of what's going on in Ukraine,” Kirby told NBC. But last night certainly greatly underscores the threat that Israel faces in a very difficult neighborhood.”
As Johnson searches for a way to boost funding for Ukraine, he has held talks with both the White House and former President Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
With his job under threat, Johnson traveled to Florida on Friday to attend an event with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club. Trump expressed his support for Johnson and said he had a “very good relationship” with him.
“He and I are 100 percent united on these big items on the agenda,” Johnson said. “When you talk about aid to Ukraine, he introduced the concept of loan and lease, which is a really important concept and I think it has a lot of consensus.”
But Trump, with his “America First” agenda, has inspired many Republicans to push for a more isolationist stance. Support for Ukraine has steadily eroded in the nearly two years since the war began, and an issue that once enjoyed widespread support has become one of Johnson's toughest problems.
When he returns to Washington on Monday, Johnson will also face a group of conservatives already angry at how he has led the House in maintaining much of the status quo on government spending and, more recently, on America's government surveillance tool.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a right-wing Republican from Georgia, called for Johnson's ouster. She left the Capitol on Friday and told reporters that support for her efforts was growing.
While no other Republicans have publicly joined Greene, a growing number of hardline conservatives are publicly disparaging Johnson and challenging his leadership.
Meanwhile, senior GOP lawmakers who support aid to Ukraine are increasingly frustrated by the months-long wait to get it to the House floor. Ukrainian forces are running out of ammunition, and Russia is becoming more emboldened as it looks to make gains in its spring and summer offensive. A massive missile and drone attack destroyed one of Ukraine's largest power plants and damaged others last week.
Russia is beginning to gain ground. Turner said that Ukraine was beginning to lose its ability to defend itself. “The United States must step up its efforts and provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs.”
The divided dynamic has forced Johnson to try to put together a package that delivers some political gains for Republicans while keeping Democrats on side. However, Democrats have repeatedly called on the House Speaker to put forward the $95 billion package passed by the Senate in February.
Although progressive Democrats have resisted supporting aid to Israel over concerns it would bolster its Gaza campaign that has killed thousands of civilians, most House Democrats supported the Senate package.
“The reason the Senate bill is the only bill is because of its urgency,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week. He added: “We passed the Senate bill, and it goes directly to the president's desk, and you start providing aid to Ukraine immediately. This is the only option.”
Several Democrats also indicated they would likely be willing to help Johnson defeat an effort to remove him from the House Speaker's office if he brings up the Senate bill.
“I'm one of those who might save him if we could provide security for Israel and Taiwan and Ukraine and some reasonable security measures on the border,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas.
Groves writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
