House Speaker Johnson continues to advance US assistance to Ukraine

House Speaker Mike Johnson was very determined to defend his aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and other allies. Some Republicans were upset about it and wanted him to step down, but he refused to do so.

“I am not quitting,” Johnson said after a difficult morning meeting with other House Republicans at the Capitol.

Johnson called himself a “speaker during a war” and said he would continue to work on a US national security aid plan, even though he would need help from Democrats to pass it, because his own group is not strong enough.

“We are just here doing our work,” Johnson said, calling the idea to remove him “ridiculous . “The information was not useful. ”

On Tuesday, the House Republicans and the speaker’s attitude changed significantly. The leader is trying to gather enough votes to pass the national security aid for Israel, Ukraine, and other overseas allies, even though most of his party doesn’t want to.

Johnson looked more confident after his recent meeting at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump showed his support for Johnson, giving him a boost in his career. During his press conference on Tuesday, Johnson said it was important to make sure that Trump gets re-elected as President while he is on trial in New York for committing a crime.

Johnson talked with President Biden and other leaders in Congress about the new aid package for the US. The plan is to vote on separate bills for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region. He talked to Biden about it again on Monday night.

After Johnson talked to the president, White House officials said they will wait and see what the speaker’s plan is and wait until it becomes more clear how things will be done.

John Kirby, the spokesperson for national security at the White House, said the speaker’s idea seems like it will really help us give support to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region for a lot of different situations.

The person talking is thinking about a difficult way to break up the Senate’s $95 billion aid plan into parts and then vote on each part. Then they would put it back together or send the parts to the Senate for the final approval, and maybe to the White House for the president to sign.

Overall, the speaker would need to gather support from both Republican and Democratic groups in the House to pass each measure.

Also, Johnson is getting ready to propose a new law that includes things Republicans think are important for keeping our country safe. This includes a plan to take some of Russia’s money in American banks to give to Ukraine, and to change the economic help we give to Ukraine into loans instead. It might also have rules to punish Iran for its attack on Israel last weekend, among other things.

The speaker’s new plan does not automatically ruin the chances for Democrats in the House and Senate. Leaders are waiting to see more details before they make a decision. They were supposed to arrive on Tuesday, but as the afternoon went on, it was not certain if they would be able to make it on time.

In a private meeting, Leader Hakeem Jeffries said House Democrats want the full $9 billion in aid that senators included in their package for Gaza. This information was shared by a person who did not want to be named.

Johnson needs help from the Democrats to pass parts of his plan. But the Democrats are not as supportive of Israel anymore because they are upset at the Israeli government for attacking Gaza and causing many deaths. A previous bill from the House GOP reduced the help for Gaza in Israel.

The House Republicans were very angry that Johnson would not be helping with their main goal of making the US Mexico border more secure. Some people thought that Johnson would not be able to go ahead with voting on the package as he had planned for this week.

Rep Debbie Lesko, a Republican from Arizona, said the morning meeting was like a big argument.

The speaker said that the House GOP’s border security bill HR 2 would not be relevant to the package. Rep Chip Roy, R-Texas, who helped create the bill, said it’s up to the House to decide which parts and changes are important.

“Roy said that there are a lot of things that still need to be figured out. ”

The person in charge may be kicked out of their job by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a top supporter of former President Trump. She wants to have a quick vote to remove the speaker from their position, like when Republicans removed their previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, last year.

Greene hasn’t said if or when she will push for her plan, and hasn’t got much support after last year’s trouble. But on Tuesday, she got support from at least one important person.

Rep Thomas Massie, who is from Kentucky, stood up in the meeting and said that Johnson should leave his position. He mentioned John Boehner, a former House speaker, who quit his job in 2015 to avoid being removed from office. This information was shared by Republicans who were present in the meeting.

“Speaker Johnson needs to step down and let Republicans choose a new Speaker who will prioritize America and pass a Republican agenda,” Greene wrote on social media, thanking Massie for supporting her motion to vacate.

Johnson did not answer, but told the lawmakers that they have to make a choice between two options.

The speaker said they want to pass the package they are suggesting. If they don’t, Democrats might force a vote on a different package in the Senate.