Ukraine has been waiting for military aid from the USA for months. Today the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Johnson, wants to put the aid package to a vote. Right-wing hardliners have already announced their resistance. That could cost Johnson his job.
Mike Johnson – the speaker of the US House of Representatives – is under massive pressure. Ultra-right Republicans from his own party threatened weeks ago to remove him if he voted in Congress on aid to Ukraine.
Johnson is doing it anyway and is confident that he will get the necessary majority of votes today. He will do his job, just like his colleagues. And he trusts that they will get it done in the end, despite all the drama, Mike Johnson said on CNN a few days ago.
Concessions to hardliners
Yesterday, Republicans and Democrats voted in rare agreement to move forward with the vote on the $95 billion aid package.
The plan is to vote individually on aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. As a concession to skeptical Republicans, part of the $61 billion aid package for Ukraine is to be granted as a loan. A bill with stricter measures to secure the US border is also expected to be voted on.
Observers are confident
Mike Johnson said on CNN that it was time for Congress to act. “We will stand by Israel, our close ally. We will stand up for freedom and ensure that Putin does not march through Europe. A strong America is good for the whole world.”
Political observers are relatively confident that the aid packages will find a majority in Congress. Republicans like Jared Moskowitz publicly advocated for aid to Ukraine. The U.S. is sending a message to its allies around the world that it can rely on America and that more power will not be transferred to Russia and China, the congressman said. If this law fails, then Russia and China will be the winners.
MPs from the right-wing fringe are once again threatening revolt
However, some right-wing hardliners in the Republican Party are strongly opposed to supporting Kiev and have announced that they want to remove Speaker Mike Johnson because of it. His predecessor Kevin McCarthy was overthrown in a similar situation last year. One of the hardliners is Thomas Massie from Kentucky. He said he was worried that Speaker Mike Johnson had made a deal with Democrats to fund foreign wars instead of securing his own border.
Whether the revolt of the right-wing hardliners is successful depends on whether the Democrats would vote against the overthrow of Trump supporter Mike Johnson in the event of a fall.
Either way: If Congress approves the aid packages today, they still have to be signed by the Senate and by President Biden. All of this should happen quickly so that Ukrainians get the urgently needed funds as quickly as possible.
Claudia Sarre, ARD Washington, tagesschau, April 20, 2024 5:54 a.m