President Mike Johnson will lead House Republicans in promoting three separate bills this week to send billions to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, DailyMail.com has confirmed.
A fourth bill will reportedly include several measures, such as requiring TikTok to divest from its Chinese-owned parent company, an effort to obtain seized Russian assets, a lend-lease program for military aid to Ukraine, and also loans for humanitarian aid.
The four bills would be grouped under the same “rule” to be brought to the House floor for final approval this week.
Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked as the White House has made clear that President Joe Biden does not support an aid package just for Israel.
Instead, he is urging House Republicans to approve the $95 billion package passed by the Senate with combined money for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific, a package that hardliners object to. have opposed.
Until now, Johnson had been coy about how he would approach foreign aid, but he called an emergency meeting of the entire conference on Monday to chart a way forward after Iran’s attacks over the weekend.
The two parties remain at a stalemate as the White House has made clear that President Joe Biden does not support an aid package just for Israel.
Israeli soldiers exit an armored personnel carrier near the border with the Gaza Strip on April 15.
He laid out plans for ‘appliance week,’ where the House GOP would vote on messaging bills to roll back Biden’s kitchen appliance regulations, so the House could work on legislation targeting Iran with sanctions and foreign aid for Israel.
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., one of the most conservative members, said he supports the speaker’s effort and that they are “trying to get it done before we go home.”
Congress is scheduled to work from their home districts next week.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., also said he’s glad a rule is in place and would vote for it.
Johnson introduced the $17 billion aid package intended exclusively for Israel in the House of Representatives in February, but failed to obtain the two-thirds majority he needed to approve it under suspension.
“We’re going to try again this week and the details of that package are being prepared right now,” he said. “We are looking at the options and all these complementary issues.”
The House passed a $14 billion aid package for Israel in October, but the deal was offset by cuts to IRS funding that led to its demise in the Democratic-led Senate.
Hardline Conservatives have warned Johnson not to include any funding from Ukraine in an aid bill to Israel.
“Under no circumstances will the House Freedom Caucus agree to use the emergency situation in Israel as a false justification for imposing aid on Ukraine without compensation and without security for our own open borders,” the conservative Freedom Caucus said in a statement Monday.
Meanwhile, an eviction motion has been hanging over Johnson’s head since Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene launched the attempt to unseat him last month. The Georgia Republican is a staunch opponent of aid to Ukraine and has already threatened to try to fire Johnson if he brings him to the floor.
But after Johnson met Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday and told him she supports him, Greene appeared to walk back the threat.
She told DailyMail.com: “I’m one of President Trump’s biggest fighters here in Washington and everyone knows I’m grateful for the president and I want him to focus on getting through these ridiculous trials in New York and winning his election.”
Trump was in New York City on Monday for the first day of his criminal hush money trial for an alleged scheme to pay porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
With Republicans’ narrow majority, Johnson can only afford to lose three Republicans and keep his job, unless Democrats vote to save him.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has suggested they would do so if Johnson does what Democrats want: approve the $95 billion supplement.
Israel has considered Iran’s 350-missile attack a “declaration of war,” although it said 99 percent of the missiles were intercepted.
The attack was in response to Israel’s drone strike in Syria that killed 12 Iranians, including two senior generals.
The bill passed by the Senate included humanitarian and military aid: $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel in its war against Hamas and $4.83 billion to support its partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Johnson previously suggested he would not introduce the Senate bill in the House, adding that military-only aid is “more acceptable” to members.
“No American taxpayer should be tasked with propping up the Ukrainian nation’s pension system.”
Any foreign aid bill would likely have to reach the House floor under suspension of the rules, meaning it would need a two-thirds majority to pass.
The bill would lose several Democrats who would oppose more aid to Israel without humanitarian conditions. He would lose several Republicans who strongly oppose aid to Ukraine, which could jeopardize his chances of passage.
