(Aboard Air Force One) The future of American aid to Ukraine is back on the agenda after the Republican leader of the House of Representatives announced an initiative that will earn him cautious support from the White House, but also the anger of some members of his party.
Monday evening, Mike Johnson indicated that he would submit four separate texts to a vote this week: one to help Ukraine, one for Israel, a third to “strengthen our allies in the Indo-Pacific region” and a final one for “adopt additional measures to counter our adversaries and strengthen our national security.”
The White House on Tuesday, with precautions, provided its support for these new projects.
“It would indeed appear that, at first glance, the Speaker’s proposal will indeed help us deliver aid to Ukraine and Israel,” a spokesperson for the US executive branch said. John Kirby.
“A few more details” will however be necessary for President Joe Biden to truly position himself for or against this set of texts, added the press spokesperson on the presidential plane, en route to a campaign trip in Pennsylvania.
A package of $60 billion in military and economic assistance for Ukraine was passed in the Senate in February. But Republicans in the House of Representatives refused to consider this text – due, among other things, to a dispute over the issue of immigration.
The new batch of texts announced Monday, if adopted by the Republican-majority House, will then be studied by the Democratic-majority Senate, before possibly arriving on Joe Biden’s desk for him to promulgate the texts.
The Democratic president spoke Monday with “speaker” Mike Johnson and insisted to the latter on “the need to move forward this week in the House” on this issue due to the urgency of the situation, John said. Kirby.
Ukraine is desperately short of ammunition in its war against Russia and American funds are exhausted.
Israel, for its part, faced a direct and unprecedented attack from Iran on the night of Saturday to Sunday, in the context of high regional tensions.
New rebellion?
Mr. Johnson’s announcement was immediately rejected by some of his Republican colleagues, reviving the possibility of a censure motion and a new crisis in the House – his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was impeached last year after a rebellion by the Trumpist wing of his party.
Mike Johnson plunged the Republican Party “into chaos by serving the Democrats and adopting Biden’s agenda,” elected official Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized on X.
“Now he is going to finance wars abroad,” she added. “The speaker must announce a date for his resignation and allow Republicans to elect a new speaker to put America first and push a Republican agenda.”
One of his colleagues, Thomas Massie, announced Tuesday that he was joining Marjorie Taylor Greene in supporting a motion of no confidence in Mr. Johnson.
The latter ruled out any voluntary departure.
“I will not resign,” he told the press, deeming the threat of filing a motion of censure “absurd”.
“It doesn’t help the cause. This does not help the country,” he added.