Nearly 100 House Democrats and Republicans are urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to immediately bring the Senate-passed package that includes aid to Israel to a vote in the House, in the wake of the unprecedented Iranian attack on the country. During the weekend.
in Message sent Sunday nightlawmakers are pressing Johnson to bring the Senate-approved $95 billion national security supplement that includes military aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan to the floor Monday evening.
“This weekend, the Iranian regime launched hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles directly against our main democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel. “Time is of the essence, and we must ensure the delivery of vital aid to Israel and our other democratic allies who face threats from our adversaries around the world.”
It was chaired by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D.N.J.) and Joe Wilson (R.S.C.) and signed by 89 colleagues from both sides of the aisle.
“We urge you to bring the Senate supplemental aid package to an immediate vote when we return on Monday,” they wrote. “This aid package passed the Senate with 70 votes, both Democrats and Republicans, and we can send it to the president’s desk for his signature Monday night.”
The lawmakers' request runs counter to Johnson's efforts to circumvent the Senate-approved package, balancing opposition from members of his own party and former President Trump, who has great influence over the Republican Party, for weeks.
Johnson is trying to avoid a revolution within his party, as Republican hardliners – most notably Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) – are threatening to hold a vote to remove the Speaker of Parliament over her opposition to aid to Ukraine.
Johnson met with Trump in Florida on Friday, and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee signaled his openness to the House passing more military aid to Ukraine. But Trump called for this assistance to be provided in the form of a loan. More time will be needed to craft and vote on such changes to legislation passed by the Senate, further delaying what 91 lawmakers say is the need for an immediate vote.
But Trump's support is important, allowing opponents of aid to Ukraine to moderate their criticism.
A majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress want a comprehensive aid package to help Israel and Ukraine, as well as priorities in the Indo-Pacific region. These lawmakers view U.S. support in these three theaters as linked, and want to avoid setting a precedent where Congress picks and chooses where to provide support.
We can't just say that Iran is bad, but Russia is okay, and China is bad. …They're all in this together. It's very clear to us in the intelligence and national security community,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday on CBS' “Face the Nation.”
McCaul said he expected to speak with Johnson on Sunday evening about moving forward with an aid package this week, but signaled openness to a loan program to aid Ukraine and other changes to the Senate-passed bill.
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