Lawmakers to vote soon on stalled Ukraine aid
By Bernd Debusmann Jr
The US House of Representatives will vote on foreign aid bills – including one for Ukraine – on Saturday, Speaker Mike Johnson has announced.
In a note sent to House Republicans, Mr Johnson said that four bills would be brought to the floor, in addition to a separate one on border security.
The legislation will include funding for Israel as well as the Indo-Pacific, but the highest political stakes come with the Ukraine aid.
Republican opposition has stalled potential assistance for Ukraine for months, as members of the party’s right-wing have pushed to tie it to stricter immigration measures.
Some of those lawmakers, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wants Mr Johnson removed from the Speaker post, have already decried his plan. With Republicans holding their smallest majority in the House in decades, Mr Johnson may have to appeal to Democrats to get the bills passed.
Meanwhile, Democrats and some centrist Republican bills have been calling for months for Ukraine aid to be passed quickly, saying it is vital for Ukraine’s defence against Russia and for US national security.
Mr Johnson’s announcement on Wednesday comes more than two months after a $95bn (£76.3bn) bill encompassing various aid packages passed the US Senate.
The new plan breaks the aid packages into separate bills, which Mr Johnson said include “a loan structure for aid, and enhanced strategy and accountability”.
