House Republican leadership appears to be officially backing away from lawmakers' demands for border security before any more aid is given to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
The announcement was made Thursday at a House Republican retreat with Speaker Mike Johnson. tells reporters Bills to further fund both Ukraine's defense and Israel's military effort against Hamas will be brought up separately in the coming weeks. There is no indication that Republicans will pursue the idea of passing either of them without first striking a deal on immigration reform or border security that could pass both houses of Congress.
In December last year, Mr Johnson made that claim clear, saying in a letter to the White House: “[S]Additional Ukraine funding depends on changes to our country's border security laws.
But the bipartisan compromise bill hammered out by bipartisan negotiators with the blessing of GOP Leader Mitch McConnell should have at least attempted to achieve “transformational change” after Senate Republicans made it clear. Visit to the lower room. The legislation would have allowed President Joe Biden to shut down the U.S. asylum system, which is daily illegal border crossings to cross a certain threshold. Donald Trump's call for Republicans to kill the bill to prevent his opponent from gaining political success in an election year has been widely credited with much of the GOP opposition in the House.
Thursday's news was a reversal of Mr Johnson's previous stance.
A member of his caucus, Marjorie Taylor Green, As recently as January He said he would hold a vote on a motion to remove Mr Johnson as speaker if a bill to fund Ukraine's military was introduced in the House.
“We can't fund Ukraine,” he told NBC News, adding that it was “an absolute no-no … for one reason.
If Ms. Green or another Republican brings a motion to vacate against him, Mr. Johnson could be in for a tough political fight; Thanks to Rep. Ken Buck's sudden resignation announcement, the GOP's majority in the House is now down to just five votes.
