Speaker Mike Johnson faces major test to pass $95 BILLION in aid to Israel and Ukraine after White House urged GOP to pass bill NOW to get cash to US allies
Speaker Mike Johnson is facing one of the toughest weeks of his career as pressure mounts on him to pass a foreign aid package that could see him fired.
After Iran’s drone and missile attacks on Israel over the weekend, Congress is being urged to green light billions of dollars for the Jewish country, which has been embroiled in conflicts with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The salvo on Saturday evening of over 300 missiles and drones was Iran’s first direct attack on Israel in history. Now U.S. leaders see rapid delivery of aid as critical to supporting the country’s anti-missile and anti-drone defense systems.
The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package providing money to Israel in February, but the Republican House has not touched the measure, as many conservatives do not want to hand out money abroad before passing security legislation on the southern border.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., initiated the process to remove Johnson and has warned him against putting the Senate bill up for a vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing pressure from the left and right to quickly send foreign aid money to Israel after the country was attacked by Iran over the weekend
Iran launched over 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday in response to Israel’s April 1 bombing of an Iranian consulate in Syria.
Furthermore, the White House has also been adamant in calling for Congress to get started on the agreement on foreign aid.
“We will continue to make sure that Israel can defend itself,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday on Fox News.
“We need to make sure they have what they need and that’s why we need the supplementary passed in Parliament so quickly.”
And the Biden administration has made it clear that it opposes a bill that would only provide funding to Israel.
“We are opposed to a stand-alone bill that would just work on Israel that we’ve seen proposed,” Kirby said Monday. ‘We will be against an independent bill.’
In total, the supplementary package includes about $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $4.83 billion to support partners in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan.
The White House and Pentagon have repeatedly pushed for the package, citing Russia’s recent front-line advances and Iran’s missile strikes as signals that the money must be delivered quickly.
“The best and fastest way to fulfill our obligations to our ally Israel and our partner Ukraine is for the House to pass the bipartisan bill that passed the Senate,” Kirby said Monday.
Johnson, who met with Donald Trump on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, has also said he wants to get foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.
The speaker told Fox News on Sunday that he and the former president “are 100 percent in agreement on these major agenda items.”
And Johnson’s alliance with Trump on foreign aid could dissuade Greene from trying to remove the speaker to bring the Senate’s foreign aid package to a vote.
‘When you talk about aid to Ukraine, (Trump’s) introduced the lend-lease concept, which is a really important concept that I think has a lot of consensus as well as these other ideas – the REPO law that we’ve discussed, which seizing the assets of corrupt Russian oligarchs to help pay for this resistance,” Johnson said.
‘I think these are ideas that I think can gain consensus, and that’s what we’ve been working through.’
“We’re going to send our package, we’re going to put something together and send it to the Senate and get those commitments met,” the speaker said Sunday.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense batteries were activated on Saturday to shoot down the incoming Iranian projectiles.
But when Parliament will be ready to move forward, foreign aid is still up in the air.
The House is expected to meet again on Monday evening for votes, but foreign aid is not on the agenda as of Monday morning. Although it is expected to be added at some point this week.
And some members want the foreign affairs agreement to be adopted before Tuesday.
Just under 100 members of the House sent one letter to Johnson to begin the Senate’s $95 billion foreign aid package, arguing that if he does, the legislation could be passed within 24 hours.
“This weekend, the Iranian regime fired hundreds of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles directly at our most important democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel,” the lawmakers wrote.
‘Time is of the essence and we must ensure that critical aid is delivered to Israel and our other democratic allies who face threats from our adversaries around the world.’
‘We urge you to put the Senate supplemental aid package on the floor for an immediate vote when we return on Monday.’
‘This aid package passed the Senate with 70 votes, Democrats and Republicans, and we can send it to the president’s desk for signature on Monday night.’
Israeli anti-missile systems shoot down incoming Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday
The two-part letter was led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, DN.J., and Rep. Joe Wilson, RS.C. It was also signed by 90 other members of the House, mostly from the Democratic caucus.
The chief appropriator in Parliament, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., has signaled a desire among House Republicans to get Israel’s funding started quickly.
It remains unclear when and how Parliament will allocate additional money to Israel and Ukraine.