House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has unveiled a scheme to break the deadlock in Congress and trigger a flood of four votes, including a lone vote on tens of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars in aid to Ukraine.
The plan appears to capitalize on Congress’ sense of urgency to send aid to Israel in the wake of Iranian missile attacks, as a plan to sidestep Republican hostility over continued funding of Ukraine’s war against Russia.
Mr. Johnson revealed his plan to colleagues at the House Republican conference Monday night. His plan is to hold a one-vote vote on the rules (which would dictate which bills are introduced in the House, as well as the time and amendments), which, if successful, would extend to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Four separate votes on aid will be unlocked. TikTok bill too.
The rule only needs a majority on the floor to pass. If that happens, each of the four bills would similarly only need majority support.
The move turns Prime Minister Johnson, once an ardent opponent of continued U.S. aid to Ukraine, into a man bent on raising more money — a new bill called “Suspension of Regulations.” It will be possible to avoid passing the bill.
Most recently, in March, Prime Minister Johnson passed a pending $1.2 trillion spending bill. The process requires two-thirds support, but the speaker could potentially pass legislation that is opposed by a significant portion of the party. Johnson passed the spending bill over the objections of a majority of Republicans who voted against it, an unofficial Hastert rule that states a Republican chair cannot introduce a bill unless a majority of the chamber supports it. violated.
After his conversion regarding Ukraine, Prime Minister Johnson considered suspending the rules to provide further aid to Ukraine. tell politiko In March, he said of further foreign aid: “I think this is independent and I think it might need to be stopped.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) likely halted those plans by threatening to force a vote to oust Johnson from the speakership. Greene filed a motion to vacate the speakership in March, the same procedural tool used to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October 2023. .
Ms Greene has not drawn a “red line” on what would prompt her to force a vote on the motion, but said she did not want Mr Johnson to violate the wishes of the Republican base, which strongly opposes increased spending in Ukraine. I made it clear that I would not.
It’s unclear whether the rule will receive a floor vote. First, the rule must be submitted to the House Rules Committee. And Johnson still needs to clarify the details of the four bills the rules would lift, as well as the structure for amendments and debate.
In years past, the committee (colloquially known as the “Speaker’s Committee”) was packed with members loyal to the Speaker and the broader Republican establishment, so passing rules in committee was just a formality. It was just something.
But this Congress has become an outlier after former Speaker McCarthy allowed three members of the conservative bloc to join powerful committees as part of a series of concessions to win his gavel. . Mr. McCarthy and especially Mr. Johnson have suffered from heartburn throughout Congress as they try to get committees to green light the speaker’s priorities.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) discusses defunding the Department of Homeland Security’s Disinformation Control Board during a House Republican press conference at the Capitol on May 11, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
The rules committee is heavily tilted in favor of the ruling party. The current breakdown is nine Republicans and four Democrats. But the committee’s three conservative members, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), believe that by coming together, It is possible to block the rules.
Other factors make it clear that Mr Johnson is likely thinking about strategy.
The House of Commons has already passed legislation this session to tackle aid to Israel and the Chinese Communist Party’s influence through TikTok, two of the four topics Johnson now has to tackle. These bills await action in the Senate.
Johnson’s seemingly inexplicable decision to include two items already being dealt with in the House of Commons appears to be part of a strategy to allow for a single vote on Ukraine.
The House of Representatives passed a previous bill to support Israel in November 2023. The bill included a $14.6 billion bill to be paid for by cuts to the Internal Revenue Service.
At the time, this was widely seen as a significant achievement in Johnson’s early speeches, but there have been few subsequent victories.
But in the days since Iran’s missile attack on Israel, Johnson has avoided asking Congress to take up his opponent’s bill as usual, and in particular, he has pushed back the Israel aid bill passed by the House of Commons into the Senate. It is not requested that the committee deliberate on the matter.
Rather, he appears to be trying to use the urgency of aiding Israel (a popular cause within the chamber and among many House Democrats) to free up Ukrainian funds.
By bundling together issues that move large parts of each party’s base, Johnson says he can entice Democrats to cross the aisle and vote for Republican rules, solidify Republican support and save his chairmanship. Maybe he’s making a bet.
On the Republican side, Johnson hopes that by including multiple bills on a single rule vote, he will induce anti-Ukrainian Republicans who do not want to block aid to Israel to vote in favor of the rule. There is.
Importantly, he can also protect himself from criticism from conservatives, particularly Greene. Otherwise, he could be expelled from the chairmanship for introducing a vote on unilateral rules on Ukraine.
The four-subject rule required Johnson to include support for Ukraine among other priorities, particularly Israel, and that Johnson’s plan gave each member state an opportunity to oppose support for an independent Ukraine. I can make a point.
On the Democratic side, Mr. Johnson may be banking on the complexity of parliamentary procedures in the House of Commons.
It is highly unusual for an opposition party to vote in favor of the majority party’s rules, whether in the Rules Committee or on the House floor, even if the opposition party supports the underlying bill.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks to reporters outside the Capitol after voting on a funding bill to avert a government shutdown on March 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
But Johnson is confident that enough Democrats have made efforts to explain things inside and outside Congress to voters angry that lawmakers have blocked votes on highly motivating issues such as aid to Israel and Ukraine. To avoid this, we may be able to hope for an unusual crossover in the rules vote.
In addition to the details of the underlying bill, Johnson and News Rules Committee Chairman Michael Burgess (R-Texas) will need to decide on the structure of the debate and whether amendments will be allowed.
Johnson could pursue rules that would allow for several or more amended votes from conservatives opposed to aid to Ukraine as another strategy to protect himself from criticism on the issue.
Mr Green left Monday night’s meeting, saying Mr Johnson’s plan was “another wrong move for Speaker Johnson”, but did not commit to pressing ahead with the motion to leave until more details were known.
Conservatives have steadily urged Congress to address the chaos at their own border before sending billions more to support Ukraine’s border. But the plan Mr Johnson has laid out to his colleagues does not include border issues.
Future timelines are uncertain. Mr Johnson is likely to violate conference and House rules that require 72 hours of consideration of bills before a vote.
Additionally, Ukraine’s vote could violate Hastert rules.
Bradley Jay is Breitbart News’ Capitol Hill correspondent. Follow him on X/Twitter. @BradleyAJay.
