House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing pressure from all sides on the question of aid to Ukraine. He has been subject to threats from angry Republicans opposed to providing further funding but also calls from Democrats and global leaders demanding action.
“He's a bit boxed in," one House Democrat told Axios. "He goes one way, he loses votes, he goes another way, he loses votes, and he's got people who are talking about throwing him out every day.” That unnamed source called Johnson’s dilemma “a nightmare version of choose-your-own adventure,” with alligators down one path and piranhas down another.
We’re not sure whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is the gator or the killer fish in that metaphor, but as we told you yesterday, the Georgia Republican firebrand has threatened to move ahead with a motion to oust the speaker and is warning him against bringing up an aid package.
At the same time, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Thursday called on Johnson to push through an aid package and urged his European peers to do the same. “Crucially, we need to get on the phone, or in my case go in person to see Speaker Johnson in the House of Representatives to get that supplemental through,” Cameron, a former U.K. prime minister and member of the British Conservative Party, told reporters after a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers’ meeting.
And Johnson also faces new demands from Democrats to bundle other humanitarian assistance into a foreign aid bill. Eight House Democrats led by Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania wrote Johnson a letter this week asking for at least $9.16 billion to help address “the world’s greatest unmet humanitarian needs, which are leading to horrifying human costs and driving instability that threatens our national security.” Their letter, reported by Axios, calls for aid to Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Lebanon.
Democrats may have leverage over the details of an aid package because their support will be needed to get it through the House given the deep divisions among Republicans. Johnson will have to decide how far he might want to go toward appeasing conservatives or if he’ll work with Democrats, whose support he’ll also need to fend off a motion by Greene to boot him from the speaker’s job. Democrats have concerns about some of the ideas Johnson has raised for a House aid bill, including structuring the money for Ukraine as a loan and lifting a Biden administration pause on new natural gas permitting.
Republicans, meanwhile, are likely to oppose any additional humanitarian funds. And in a Wednesday phone interview with CNN, Greene reiterated her warning to Johnson against putting forth any Ukraine package and insisted she would oppose more aid even if the plan also included border security measures.
“I’m not saying I have a red line or a trigger, and I’m not saying I don’t have a red line or trigger. And I think that’s just where I’m at right now,” she said. “But I’m going to tell you right now: Funding Ukraine is probably one of the most egregious things that he can do.” She reiterated that she opposes the idea of providing Ukraine aid in the form of a loan, something former President Donald Trump has supported. Greene called the proposal “the biggest bunch of heaping, steaming pile of bullshit” and “insulting to the American people.”
Greene reportedly plans to speak with Johnson tomorrow, but in the meantime, she has continued to criticize the government spending deal he cut with Democrats and the process that was used to pass that legislation. She has also rejected the concern raised by some in her party that a move to oust Johnson might result in House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries becoming speaker. Greene told CNN she sees little difference between Johnson and top Democrats or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Mike Johnson, he’s literally turned into Mitch McConnell’s twin and worse. He’s a Democrat, she reportedly said, adding “There’s not even any daylight between him and Nancy Pelosi at this point.”
The bottom line: Johnson still has plenty of decisions to make and challenges to address if he wants meet the urgent calls for more aid to Ukraine. But Punchbowl News reports that a Ukraine aid bill may not come to the floor next week, when lawmakers return from their recess. The following week is reportedly more likely.
