The U.S. House of Representatives will have its long-awaited vote on aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific as soon as Saturday, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, paving the way for its possible passage despite fierce objections from the right wing of his conference.
The House Appropriations Committee unveiled legislation providing more than $95 billion in security assistance, including $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine and assist regional partners as they handle Russia's invasion, of which $23.2 billion would be used to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities.
The effort to pass security aid gained new urgency following Iran's unprecedented attacks on Israel over the weekend in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran's embassy compound in Damascus on April 1.
The Israel bill totals $26.38 billion, some of which will cover the cost of U.S. military operations in response to recent attacks. And $9.1 billion of the total is designated for humanitarian needs, something Democrats had demanded for them to support the bill.
The Indo-Pacific measure totals $8.12 billion.
Johnson said he would give House members 72 hours from the bill's introduction - until mid-day Saturday - to review the bill. He said the chamber would vote on final passage on Saturday evening.
He also said he would release a separate border security bill, meeting a demand from conservatives.
Democratic President Joe Biden said he strongly supported the package. He called on the House to pass it this week and the Senate to quickly follow. "I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed," Biden said in a statement.
The three bills are largely similar to one $95 billion foreign assistance package the Senate passed in February with strong 70% bipartisan support. But Johnson declined to move ahead on the bill until this week, amid objections from hard-right lawmakers, some of whom threatened to try to oust him as speaker.
DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT
Republican leaders of House security committees said they supported Johnson's plan. But Democratic support is essential, given the slim Republican majority in the House and opposition to further aid from far-right Republicans.
The plan got an important boost when Representative Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations panel, announced her support for the three security funding bills. "We finally have a path forward to provide support for our allies and desperately needed humanitarian aid," she said in a statement.
At least two of the most conservative House members had threatened to try to oust Johnson as speaker if he went ahead, and a handful came out against the bills on Wednesday as soon as they were filed.
Aid to Ukraine is strongly opposed by many of the most conservative lawmakers - especially those allied with former President Donald Trump, who has been a Ukraine aid skeptic and hopes to win back the White House in November.
Hardline Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has threatened to call a vote to remove Johnson from the leadership if he helps pass Ukraine aid, on Wednesday reiterated her threat.
"Joe Biden just announced he supports the House bill Johnson is forcing forward," Greene said on X. "Johnson is not our Speaker, he is theirs. The question is how much longer will our conference tolerate this?"
There are also objections to the package from some on the left, amid concern about sending money to Israel as it strikes back against the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. Opponents say there should be tighter controls on U.S. weapons and taxpayer dollars, given the devastating toll on civilians of Israel's campaign in Gaza.
In a text message to House members, Johnson said the House Rules committee also would post a fourth national security measure on Wednesday, including the REPO Act, House TikTok bill and sanctions.
The REPO Act would set the stage for the confiscation of Russian assets to be handed over to Ukraine. And the U.S. House in March passed a bill that would give the short video app TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest U.S. assets or face a ban.
And Johnson promised a text of a separate border security bill. Immigration is a top concern for conservative voters ahead of Nov. 5 elections that will decide control of the White House and Congress, and some Republicans have insisted they would not back foreign aid without more funding for security at the U.S. frontier with Mexico.
