The House of Representatives votes today on a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan — which could trigger an attempt from hard-right Republicans to once again oust their Speaker of the House. Republican Mike Johnson, who is counting on the support of Democrats to get the package over the finish line, faces an enormous test of his leadership. Below are the latest updates on this developing story.
Should it come to that:
Asked Hakeem Jeffries if it’s worth helping save Mike Johnson’s job, and he said: "We're working right now to get the national security legislation over the finish line. Once that's completed, we'll take up any other matters.”
House on its way to passing the bills this afternoon pic.twitter.com/mVRsj29zCC
71 Republicans voted for an amendment offered by Marjorie Taylor Greene to strip all funding from the Ukraine bill. That gives a clear signal of what the baseline is for Republican opposition to providing aid to Ukraine ahead of the final vote which will follow momentarily.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian flags are being handed out to Democratic lawmakers ahead of the vote. Many members are holding them.
Per CNN, here’s what’s in the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act, including the potential TikTok ban:
• Place sanctions on ports and refineries that receive and process Iranian oil.
• Place sanctions on anyone involved in activity covered under the UN missile embargo on Iran that lapsed last year or in the supply or sale of Iran’s missiles and drones.
• Further restrict the export of goods and technology of US origin to Iran.
• Empower the executive branch to seize and transfer frozen Russian assets held in the US to Ukraine.
• Give TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, nine months to sell the social media company or it would be banned from US app stores.
And the key parts of the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental bill:
• $8.1 billion to counter China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region
• $3.3 billion to develop submarine infrastructure
• $2 billion in foreign military financing for Taiwan and other key allies
• $1.9 billion to replenish defense items and services provided to Taiwan and regional partners
The aid for Taiwan got the go ahead.
NEWS -- The Indo-Pacific aid bill has cleared the House by a wide margin.
The vote was 385-34-1. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan voted present.
The Peace Through Strength Act which toughens sanctions against Iran and Russia, as well an includes a provision requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan margin of 360-58. Opposition to the legislation was split between hard right members of the Freedom Caucus and the far left of the Democratic Caucuses.
The aid package isn’t the only thing the House is voting on today.
The House doesn’t approve a Republican border security bill.
The vote was 215-199, but it needed 290 to pass under suspension
Right wing allies are coming to Mike Johnson’s aid. This morning, an open letter signed by a number of prominent conservative figures was released by Americans for Tax Reform.
The letter insists that “vacating a Republican Speaker distracts and undermines all progress on conservative issues while weakening the Republican majority in the House.” It was signed by an array of figures including Newt Gingrich and Ralph Reed as well as a number of Trump allies who played a role in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election including Ginni Thomas and Cleta Mitchell.
And prominent House Republican is saying he doesn’t think there will an attempt to oust Johnson today:
Steve SCALISE tells me “no” he does NOT expect a motion to vacate against Speaker Johnson on the floor today.
The pressure on Mike Johnson is growing. Matt Gaetz, who led the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy in October, is moving further towards supporting getting rid of Johnson too.
Gaetz, who hinted at being open to backing a motion to vacate earlier this week, is now moving even closer.
GAETZ 👀
“My hope was that MTV would be an elixir that only required 1 dose for effectiveness. But there are some therapies that require more than one dose. I hope that is not the case with MTV but we will administer the elixir as many times as is necessary to save the country”
In a tweet early this afternoon, the Florida Republican praised a Breitbart op-ed that called for Johnson’s ouster and said he was no better than a Democrat.
Great piece by a former Trump Admin officialhttps://t.co/F3ZLPkoRcN
The key part of the op-ed, which was written by former Trump administration official Lee Rizutto:
It is my strong belief, along with many of my fellow conservative Republicans, that Speaker Johnson has not simply crossed the line by working with the Democrats to advance this foolhardy foreign aid bill, he has essentially switched parties and become a member of President Biden‘s coalition to advance war with Russia at the expense of the American taxpayer. Americans overwhelmingly are against entering into a war with Russia, China, Iran, or anyone else.
This cannot be allowed to stand. I urge the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately call up the Motion to Vacate, which will put these bills on hold, even if that means bringing the House to a standstill. Taking no action is better than the action that is about to be undertaken by Congress this weekend.
At approximately 12:45 - 1:15 p.m., the House will begin voting.
Floor staff now expect members to have cast their final vote and walk off the floor around 2:00 - 2:15 p.m. pic.twitter.com/paCFpdg49B
The long awaited vote today for the House to finally pass aid to Ukraine and Israel shouldn’t be too dramatic itself. There is overwhelming bipartisan support to help both key US allies. However, there is plenty of drama within the details and with what happens next.
The big question, of whether Marjorie Taylor Greene triggers her motion to vacate the chair and oust Speaker Mike Johnson, won’t be answered until after the last vote is finally gaveled to a close this afternoon. But a clear indicator will be just how many Republicans vote against aid to Ukraine. The House Republican Conference has proven increasingly hostile to aiding the embattled Eastern European country since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. If Johnson is unable to keep a majority on his conference onside for that vote, it bodes ill for how many of his colleagues will seek to oust him afterwards.
Even then, Johnson is likely to continue as Speaker. But the more Republican defections, the weaker he will be and the more he will depend on Democrats.
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