WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare bipartisan move, the House on Friday advanced a foreign aid package to lawmakers with strong support for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian support. . Friday's vote produced an effect rarely seen in the normally hyper-partisan House, helping Democrats advance Republican Speaker Mike Johnson's plan overwhelmingly 316-94. Final House approval could come later this week, when the package will be sent to the Senate.
It's a victory for the strategy Johnson launched this week after two months of agonizing over the legislation. However, Johnson had to spend the last 24 hours trolling the conservative media and working to preserve support for wartime funding. Ukraine faces a critical moment with RussiaBut the attempt to remove him as speaker for his own work grew.
« Ukrainians are in desperate need of help right now. … We cannot allow Vladimir Putin to go to another country and take it away, » Johnson told the conservative host of The Mark Levin Show about the Russian president's invasion of Ukraine. « These are very serious matters with global implications. »
Johnson said after the vote that while it wasn't « perfect legislation, » it was a « great product » that would allow Republicans to retain their slim majority in one chamber of Congress.
After months of delay, the House has worked slowly but deliberately, with Johnson making up his mind this week to plow forward a package that matches what the Senate passed in February, with some changes. Sent by President Joe Biden Quick approval The speaker's plan and, in a rare moment, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who opposes most foreign aid to Ukraine, did not derail the speaker's work.
« The world is watching what Congress does, » the White House said in a statement. « Passing this legislation will send a powerful message about the strength of American leadership at a critical moment. »
In an extremely rare move, members of the House Rules Committee joined in a midnight vote late Thursday, with four Democrats throwing their support behind a procedural measure that overcame three tough holds by the Republican majority and debated the 9-3 vote to send the package to the House. It was a moment not seen in recent House memory.
Speaking to reporters, House Speaker Mike Johnson says the aid package is the product of a divided government.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, spoke with Johnson on Thursday night and said he would confirm that the bill clears the rules committee.
« It's long overdue that we support our Democratic allies, » Jeffries said after the vote.
« House Democrats have once again cleared the way for important legislation for the American people. »
Johnson will have to rely on Democrats again on Saturday to withdraw amendments offered by Republicans that could kill the package. One of hardline Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene would cut spending on Ukraine to zero.
Green has filed a motion to « vacate » the speaker from office, and it attracted another cosponsor Friday, with Rep. Paul Kosar, Republican of Arizona, co-sponsoring the motion. Another co-sponsor is Rep. Kentucky. Thomas Massey suggested he could pressure Johnson to resign before the House adjourns next week.
Representative Eli Crane, a hard-line conservative from Arizona, said he was « open » to joining the effort to oust Johnson.
« I definitely feel there's a sourness to the leadership of the Republican Party, » he said.
The Greens may launch an effort to oust Johnson from the Speaker's office, just as Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy from office last fall. Jeffries, the Democratic leader, has been noncommittal about helping Johnson retain the speakership, though some Democrats have suggested he could help defeat the withdrawal motion through procedural maneuvers.
With the narrowest House majority in modern times, Johnson could only lose a vote or two to pass any bill from his Republican party. That energy has pushed him into the arms of Democrats as he seeks votes to pass the package.
Without the Republican majority behind him, Johnson was unable to craft the package, as ultraconservatives demanded, lest he lose Democratic support. This forced him to abandon strict security measures to control migration along the US-Mexico border.
At best, Johnson could carve the Senate-approved version of the bill into separate parts, similar to the preference among House Republicans, and final votes would be on separate measures for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies.
The package also includes a fourth provision that includes many Republican priorities that Democrats recognize or at least are willing to accept. They include proposals to allow the United States to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to rebuild Ukraine; impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China, and criminal organizations that traffic in fentanyl; And Video app TikTok is likely to be banned If its owner in China does not sell its shares within one year.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, « Democrats are showing the world that they understand the world and our allies. We're going to stand up for them, we're going to give them the support and assistance they need, and we care about humanitarian concerns.
He added that in his 26 years in the House, he had never seen one party help the other as the Democrats did this week.
« It shows how Republicans can't manage the House and the House floor, » Meeks said.
Republicans, even those who supported the process, were bitterly disappointed that it had come to this point.
« I'm worried, » Rep. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., said he voted for the measure but was dissatisfied with the process. « It reflects the debate in the country: How much aid? »
While passing each bill in a vote expected on Saturday, Johnson will have to forge complex bipartisan alliances, with Democrats ensuring that Ukraine aid is approved. Still, a majority of Democrats will vote Saturday on aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and allies in Asia, Jeffries said.
The components will automatically be reassembled into a package sent to the Senate, where hardliners plan practical moves to block final approval.
