It all comes down to this.
After months of fighting between the parties, across the chambers and within the House Republican conference, the lower chamber is poised Saturday to approve a massive new round of foreign aid, combining billions of dollars in military help for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with billions more in humanitarian assistance for Gaza and other war zones around the globe.
Passage would mark a huge victory for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who had rejected a Senate-passed foreign-aid package in February and has agonized since then over how to move the more conservative version he promised through the House in the face of fierce opposition from hardliners occupying his animated right flank.
The legislation he’s proposed attempts to thread a delicate needle, keeping much of the Senate proposal intact — in order to secure crucial Democratic support — while adding a series of Republican national security priorities designed to temper the conservative outcry. Those GOP provisions, combined into their own package, include new sanctions on Iran; efforts to reduce the impact of the aid package on deficit spending; and a potential ban on TikTok amid concerns over the blockbuster company’s ties to China’s Communist Party.
To sweeten the deal further, Johnson has split the package into four distinct pieces, each scheduled to receive a separate vote — a design that’s won praise from lawmakers in both parties who have supported parts of the Senate bill but not others. Johnson’s piecemeal approach grants them the opportunity to go on record supporting their favored aid provisions while rejecting those they oppose.
Still, the Speaker’s decision to champion new foreign aid has come with stark political risks, infuriating conservatives who were already up in arms over his willingness to cut deals with President Biden on big-ticket legislation like extending federal funding and reauthorizing government surveillance powers.
House advances Ukraine, Israel aid as Dems help Speaker Johnson, GOP
The debate has not sparked a direct challenge to Johnson’s gavel. But Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last month had introduced a resolution to remove him from power — a motion since endorsed by two other GOP lawmakers — and it remains unclear if passage of the Ukraine aid will prompt her to force the measure to the floor for a vote.
The House gavels in at 9 a.m. to begin what is sure to be a fiery floor debate, with voting expected to begin at around 1 p.m. On the schedule are a series of amendments, that will each receive a separate vote; the border bill, which is not expected to win the two-thirds majority needed to pass by the procedural vehicle under which it’s moving; and finally the four foreign aid bills: Israel, Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and the grab-all package of national security bills.
Follow along with live updates below.
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09:30 AM
APRIL 20, 2024
Debate on aid bills opens
The House is now debating bills to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific, as well as to humanitarian purposes in hot spots including Gaza.
Debate opened around 9 a.m. and votes on the bills are set for 1 p.m.
08:29 AM
APRIL 20, 2024
Buck takes swing at ‘Moscow Marjorie’ over opposition to Ukraine aid
Former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) went after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over her opposition to Ukraine aid and anti-Ukraine position overall, in a CNN interview Friday.
“Moscow Marjorie has reached a new low,” Buck said during an interview on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” with anchor Erica Hill.
Buck referred to Bolshevik Revolution leader Vladimir Lenin’s remarks that American journalists who wrote glowing reviews about Russia at the time were “useful idiots,” but said Taylor Greene doesn’t even live up to the title of a “useful idiot.”
“She is just mouthing the Russian propaganda and really hurting American foreign policy in the process,” Buck said.
Buck’s comments came just a day after the Georgia lawmaker appeared on former White House aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, arguing against foreign aid.
“I don’t care if the Speaker’s office becomes a revolving door,” continued Greene, who has filed a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his current role. “If that’s exactly what needs to happen, then let it be. But the days are over of the old Republican Party that wants to fund foreign wars and murder people in foreign lands, while they stab the American people in their face.”
Despite Greene’s opposition, the House ultimately advanced legislation for aid to Ukraine, along with other U.S. allies, in a 316-95 vote. The vote allowed for debate on four bills that group military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with humanitarian aid for Gaza and other war zones.
Read more here.
— Tara Suter
07:53 AM
APRIL 20, 2024
GOP lawmaker blames ‘Gaetz and 7 useful idiots’ for House turmoil
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) blamed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and “seven useful idiots” for turmoil in the House, saying Thursday their success in ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last fall is a direct cause of today’s problems for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Lawler criticized members of his own party for weakening Johnson’s negotiation powers in the battle over aid to Ukraine and Israel, which is moving through the House this week over the objections of some conservatives.
“Some of these folks have nobody to blame but themselves for why Speaker Johnson’s hand in negotiations has been weakened,” Lawler told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during his Thursday night appearance on “AC360.” “It’s their actions that have done that.”
Read the full story here.
12:18 AM
APRIL 20, 2024
ICYMI: Third House Republican backs Johnson ouster
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) announced Friday that he will co-sponsor Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) resolution to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from the House’s top job, becoming the third House Republican to back his ouster.
Gosar, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, revealed his support for dismissing Johnson minutes after the House — with help from Democrats — advanced a foreign aid package that omitted border security provisions.
Gosar referenced that omission in his statement backing the ouster effort.
“I have added my name in support of the motion to vacate the Speaker,” Gosar said. “Our border cannot be an afterthought. We need a Speaker who puts America first rather than bending to the reckless demands of the warmongers, neocons and the military industrial complex making billions from a costly and endless war half a world away.”
READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
— Mychael Schnell and Mike Lillis
12:16 AM
APRIL 20, 2024
ICYMI: House advances Ukraine, Israel aid as Dems help Speaker Johnson, GOP
The House advanced legislation Friday to send aid to Ukraine and other embattled U.S. allies overseas, clearing a key procedural hurdle after Democrats stepped in to back the measure — a rare move by the minority party, but one that was crucial to nudge the package forward in the face of fierce conservative opposition.
The chamber approved the foreign aid rule in a 316-94 vote, opening up debate on a quartet of bills combining military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with humanitarian assistance to Gaza and other global war zones. The successful rule tees up final passage of all four measures, which are scheduled to hit the floor in separate votes Saturday afternoon.
The advancement brings Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) one step closer to passing an explosive foreign aid package that has been the subject of intense debate within the Capitol — and his conference — for months amid dire warnings from lawmakers, U.S. officials and foreign figures that Kyiv’s beleaguered forces need more U.S. assistance.
But the bipartisan vote is sure to land Johnson in more hot water with his right flank, which has sharply criticized the package — both for the billions of dollars in Ukraine aid and the exclusion of border security — and have long denounced the Speaker’s tendency to work with Democrats to advance key priorities including, now, foreign assistance.
