Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is holding the line as several GOP senators are pressuring him to bring the $60 billion military assistance for Ukraine to the floor.
As RedState reported, the Senate passed a $95 billion military assistance funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan Tuesday morning. The bill went to the House, and Johnson has held firm on his promise not to bring the bill up for a vote there.
The U.S. has been funding Ukraine for quite some time now. From 2014 until 2021, the U.S. committed to giving Ukraine more than $20 billion in security assistance.
As of December 2023, Congress and the Biden administration have given Ukraine over $75 billion in assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The U.S. has committed — by far — more aid to Ukraine than any other country. After former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) oversaw the passage of military assistance for Ukraine, current speaker Johnson has said enough is enough.
He said senators “should have gone back to the drawing border to include real border security provisions that would actually help end the ongoing catastrophe.”
However, Senate Republicans will not go quietly, as they are putting pressure on Johnson to bring the Senate bill to a vote in the House.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) took issue with Johnson speaking out about the bill passed.
I don’t know why he has to comment on it at all. There’s this process where we pass things and send it over, and they pass things and send it over. And then you take it up. I do think it’s a little bit bad form. The Speaker hasn’t traditionally been that strident.
Cramer claimed that Johnson was being “disrespectful” to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and GOP senators.
It’s quite disrespectful to Mitch; it’s quite disrespectful to Republicans in the Senate. This is not a partisan issue for us. It is for them, because everything is for them.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Republicans will lose if Putin wins.
Now the Speaker is going to have to decide where he wants to be in this chapter of history and whether or not just doing nothing is an option. We’ll see what he does. If Putin wins, Republicans will lose. If there is a definitive change in the posture between now and November, there’s no doubt.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) chimed in, saying, “It would be quite a world if the Democrat Party becomes the party of national security.”
It’s clear that a facet of the GOP wants to continue funding Ukraine, along with the Democrats; however, other Republicans, like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), don’t share in that view. Paul blasted his colleagues for forcing the deal through the Senate.
I will be a no and continue to be a no on this bill because it puts Ukraine first and America last. pic.twitter.com/iEZZdCK4ti
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) February 13, 2024
The U.S. has given billions upon billions of dollars to Ukraine. That some are asking when the Biden administration, Democrats, and some GOP members in Congress will focus on investing in America and for the future of their own country is understandable.
Potential Michigan Senate candidate Justin Amash posted on X about the bill to fund Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
American taxpayers should not be forced to finance and supply other countries’ ongoing wars—whether it’s Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Gaza, or any other conflict. When the United States pours billions of dollars into a war, particularly in the form of armaments, it makes our country a…
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) February 11, 2024
It remains to be seen if the Senate bill will be brought to the House floor for a vote, but as of now, Johnson is holding his ground.
