Speaker Mike Johnson is “committed” to bringing Ukraine aid to the House floor, a Republican said, despite sparking a revolt within his caucus and potentially losing his job.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) expressed optimism that Democrats would throw Johnson a lifeline to secure additional funding for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
“[Johnson’s] I promise you I’ll make this a top priority when I get back to Washington, D.C.,” Bacon said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”
But he acknowledged the move would likely spark a fight to oust the Louisiana Republican, who has a slim majority.
Mr. Bacon, one of the moderate House Republicans, complained, “If we don’t get 100% approval, there are people who will try to collapse Congress. That will lead to our dysfunction.” I leaked it.
“After this Ukraine bill, it is very likely that we will have a conflict with the speaker.”
Asked if there was a chance that Johnson would lose his seat as speaker of the House of Commons as a result of this fight, Bacon said: “That’s a possibility. I’m not going to rule it out.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) also expressed confidence Sunday that the House will adopt additional legislation on Kyiv.
“I spoke with [Johnson] directly. I’m not going to delve into the details of that conversation. But I’m confident he’ll bring the bill to the floor,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week and affirmed his support for the war-torn ally as it seeks to repel the Russian invader.
He previously teased that he wanted to deal with Ukraine after completing the fiscal year 2024 spending process, which ended earlier this month.
Just as the House was about to finish appropriations for fiscal year 2024, which ended six months late, the embattled lawmaker, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), was forced to take the speaker’s seat as a “warning” to him. filed a motion to surrender.
This resolution was not privileged and therefore did not require a vote.
she publicly threatened If he brought up aid to Ukraine in a floor vote, we would expel him. Given that the Republican majority will soon be 217-213 if Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) leaves the party next month, Johnson has little room to stem the rebellion.
Mr. Bacon said he did not believe Mr. Greene’s actions would ultimately be successful.
“But I think there are some Democrats who don’t want to see this dysfunction. And I think they’ll probably vote on the spot, or maybe they won’t vote at all,” he added. “I hope the speaker wins. He’s doing the right thing. It’s in the national security interest for Ukraine to remain independent.”
Back in October, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a group of seven other House Republican mob agitators banded together with a solid bloc of Democrats to defeat then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Fla.). , California) was dismissed.
This was in response to Mr. McCarthy’s request for spending adjustments to avoid a government shutdown. Green supported McCarthy on that flap.
During this go-around, Gates said, was cautious Despite his opposition to aid to Ukraine, Johnson said he was removed from the throne because he feared such a move would flip the House of Representatives to Democrats.
Several Democratic members of Congress have publicly suggested they would spare Mr. Johnson in the event of an insurrection, particularly one over Ukraine. In contrast to Johnson, McCarthy had a particularly acrimonious relationship with House Democrats.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) teased that possibility Sunday.
“I will consider it under two conditions. The first is that with help to Ukraine we will stand up. [Russian President] President Vladimir Putin,” Khanna told “Fox News Sunday.”
“And two, let’s raise $600 million to rebuild Baltimore’s bridges.”
President Biden asked Congress to increase aid to Ukraine again last August, but the House has stalled for months.
Last month, the Senate passed an additional $95 billion package, including about $60 billion for Ukraine, which is currently struggling on the battlefield due to military shortages.
Bacon supported a smaller $66 billion alternative and wanted the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with more advanced weapons.
The Nebraska government also expects that some of the aid will come in the form of loans, with most likely military aid rather than humanitarian aid.
“The president didn’t give them long-range ATACM.” [Advanced Rocket Missile Technology]. He has provided the weapons to bring the situation in Ukraine to a stalemate. Why shouldn’t he give Ukraine high-tech weapons?” Bacon wondered.
“We want to force the president on the types of weapons we provide.”
Parliament is scheduled to reconvene on April 9th.
