House lawmakers pushed a $95 billion package of foreign aid bills out of committee late Thursday evening in a bipartisan effort to confront Russian, Iranian, and Chinese aggression, paving the way for a disputed floor vote this weekend.
In a rare move, Democrats in the minority on the House Rules Committee joined Republicans in the majority to vote 9-3 in favor of more military support funds and humanitarian aid for war-torn Ukraine and Israel, as well as the fragile island of Taiwan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other foreign dignitaries have urged Western nations to support Kyiv in its war against Russia, which entered its third year in February. Iran also launched a direct airstrike on Israel last weekend, amid the Jewish state’s months-long conflict with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
In response, Israel conducted its predicted retaliatory strike against Iran on Friday morning, according to ABC News, citing American officials.
Rules Republican Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Chip Roy of Texas, and Ralph Norman of South Carolina opposed the US aid funding, accusing House Speaker Mike Johnson of “breaking his promise” to prioritize border security concerns.
“I was born in the 1980s.” I consider myself a Reagan Republican. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday, Johnson (R-La.) said, “I understand the concept of maintaining peace through strength.”
“We’re not going to get 100% of what we want right now because we have the smallest majority in history and only have the majority in one chamber,” he added, predicting a close vote in the House on Saturday night.
The House speaker dismissed a comparable bill passed by the Senate in February because it failed to address US border security, but he assured Republicans that they would be able to vote on a bill including the “core components” of their flagship border package passed last year.
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal critic of Johnson who is threatening to remove him over the foreign aid package, filed a slew of changes to the bills in protest, including one forcing US lawmakers who approve Ukraine cash to enlist in the country’s military themselves.
Massie joined Greene (R-Ga.) on a motion to remove Johnson and called on the House speaker to resign in a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday, telling The Post and other reporters later that he did so to “avoid the situation where he gets vacated from the floor” if the foreign aid bill passes.
“The Hastert Rule, if you remember, says that if a majority of the majority doesn’t support it, you don’t bring it to the floor,” Massie added, referring to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
“The Johnson Rule states that if 80% of Democrats do not support it, it should not be brought to the floor. “And that is problematic,” he continued.
“If Mike Johnson insists on getting to the endpoint that Joe Biden and [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer want,” Massie said of the House measures duplicating Senate legislation, “I think he’s already over-drafted on his political capital.”
For more than two months, the president, Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had pressed Johnson to pass the $95 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific, but Biden responded fast by supporting the House legislation.
“I strongly support this package to get critical support from Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” he said in a written statement.
“The House must pass the plan this week, and the Senate should act shortly thereafter. I will sign this into law right away to send a message to the world: we support our allies and will not let Iran or Russia win.”
The House amended the Senate bill by increasing financing for American armament and ammunition stockpiles, adding oversight restrictions to Ukraine assistance, and boosting aid to Israel.
It also confirms $1.6 billion of Ukraine aid in the form of US loans and loan guarantees, as proposed by previous President Donald Trump.
Taiwan receives approximately half of the total allocation of $60.84 billion for Ukraine, $26.38 billion for Israel, and $8.12 billion for the Indo-Pacific region.
“My philosophy is that you do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may,” Johnson said to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon. “If I operated out of fear of a motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job.”
“History judges us for what we do—tthis is a critical time right now,” he went on to say. “I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important.”
“I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we’ve gotten; I believe that [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping], [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, and Iran really are an axis of evil; I think they’re in coordination on th”If granted permission, I believe Vladimir Putin would persist in his march through Europe, potentially heading to the Balkans for a confrontation with Poland or one of our NATO allies.”
“To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys,” he stated, highlighting the high risks of the conflict with Russia.
The House will hold a procedural vote on the bills on Friday, which conservative Freedom Caucus members have threatened to veto, forcing Democrats to vote them through in the finely divided chamber.
Moderate Democrats, including New York Representative Tom Suozzi, have already committed their support.
