Russia-Ukraine war live: US House speaker negotiates with White House over wartime funding for Ukraine
US House speaker in discussions with White House to advance Ukraine assistance
After facing months of delay, a senior House Republican has confirmed that the US House speaker is engaged in negotiations with the White House to move forward with funding for Ukraine. The new aid package, which would deviate from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security package and include Republican demands, is currently being discussed, according to the Associated Press.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has been under increasing pressure to secure an aid package for Ukraine, not only from President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly criticized Republicans for not providing assistance, but also from conservative members of Johnson’s party who strongly oppose any further aid to Ukraine.
House Republican leader Steve Scalise told reporters on Thursday that no agreement has been reached yet. “Obviously there would have to be an agreement reached not just with the White House, but with our own members,” Scalise stated.
Johnson is scheduled to meet with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday. Johnson has reportedly been seeking Trump’s support for the Ukraine funding, or at the very least, to prevent him from openly opposing it. Trump, who aims to steer the US towards a more isolationist approach, has previously expressed willingness to negotiate an end to the Ukrainian conflict.
The aid package may involve providing financial assistance to Kyiv in the form of a loan or redirecting Russian assets seized under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (Repo) for Ukrainians Act. This would diverge from previous aid packages directed towards Ukraine. However, opponents of the aid, such as congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, are unlikely to be swayed. Greene has threatened to remove Johnson as speaker and argued that advancing Ukraine funding would support her case for selecting a new speaker among GOP lawmakers.
Republican congressman Don Bacon, who supports providing aid to Ukraine, emphasized the importance of addressing the situation. “This becomes a more dangerous world with Russia in Kyiv,” he stated. “So we just have to find a smart way to pass a bill that we can send to the Senate.”
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