Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is refusing to allow a vote on Ukraine aid unless it is paired with the House Republicans’ unpopular border bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson told other congressional leaders late last week that he won’t pair Ukraine aid with anything less than H.R. 2, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been repeating, both in public and in private, that H.R. 2 will never pass the Senate. An aide to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated to us Sunday night that H.R. 2 is a “non-starter.” No Democrats voted for the GOP package back in May when the House passed it.
Schumer is expected to tee up the floor process for the foreign aid package — without Republicans’ border demands — as soon as today. That would set up a cloture vote later this week, on Wednesday or Thursday. This will be a crucial moment for Republicans, especially defense hawks like McConnell.
H.R. 2 is a bad bill. The legislation does contain a couple of good pieces, including increased border funding and the use of technology. However, the good is outweighed by the bad, as it also calls for the turning away of people who are fleeing persecution and violence, and it calls for the increased detention of migrants.
It is a very Trumpian piece of legislation that has no chance of being supported by Democrats.
Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to hold Ukraine’s democracy hostage.
The Speaker’s move is un-American, and it shows how low Republicans are willing to go to help Putin and harm immigrants.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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