Moscow Mike - Russso-Ukraine War
The Republican Party was trying to give Ukraine to Putin in exchange for Russia's help to win 2024. Trump was running a shadow foreign policy from Mar-a-Lago. Trump's policy - "Let Russia Win" - was becoming America's policy. At his bidding, a minority in the House has blocked aid to Ukraine. Mike Johnson's actions on Ukraine funding represents a dumbing down of what it means to be Speaker--by giving him credit for not voting the way Putin wanted is a low bar for leadership. The US Congress’ approval of over US$60 billion in aid to Ukraine was currently being blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives. The White House has repeatedly cautioned that this would significantly harm Ukraine’s military efforts on the battlefield.
Shortly after taking office as Speaker of the House in late October, Mike Johnson sat down for an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity and declared: We cannot allow Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine, because I don't think it will stop there. It will likely encourage and enable China to make a move on Taiwan. We have these concerns and we will not abandon Ukraine. Accordingly, one might expect Johnson (R-LA) to get the Ukraine aid bill passed in November, December, or January. Now we are heading into March, and no aid package for Ukraine has been passed in the House of Representatives.
In November, Johnson talked up the idea of using more than $300 billion in seized Russian assets to help Ukraine. He told the New York Post: It would be pure poetry to finance the Ukrainian war effort with Russian assets. Nothing has been done on that front either. “We still need more legislative authority from Congress for the president to be able to act like this,” John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said on Tuesday, in response to a reporter’s question about the Russian billions.
In Hannity's October interview, Johnson also pledged: We will put forward a stand-alone measure to fund Israel in excess of $14 billion. In early February, the House of Representatives failed to pass a standalone $17.6 billion funding bill for Israel because it was introduced under a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority.
Johnson said he wanted legislation to secure the US southern border and enforce immigration laws more tightly, a perfectly reasonable priority, given the chaos and strain on resources that migrants are putting on cities coast to coast. However, when Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) came out with his joint proposal on foreign aid and border security, Johnson immediately rejected it, without offering a counteroffer.
Media reported that the US House of Representatives vote on aid to Ukraine was unlikely to happen until at least mid-April, and possibly later, as Speaker Mike Johnson was still seeking ways to soften opposition from radical Republicans. Johnson said that the US aid package for Ukraine will include "some important innovations", including the possibility of extending a US loan to Ukraine. Mike Turner, chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee, expressed confidence that Ukraine's aid package would receive "overwhelming support" when Congress returns to work on 9 April, emphasising Johnson's promise to make funding for Ukraine a priority after the recess.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a 28 March 2024 telephone conversation with Speaker of the House of Representatives Michael Johnson, spoke about the intensification of "Russian air terror," noting the "critical importance" of the rapid adoption by the U.S. Congress of a decision on assistance to Ukraine. “I spoke with speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson and thanked him personally, both parties, the American people, and President Biden for their critical support of Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram channel.
According to CNN, whether Johnson retains his position will largely depend on how he handles the next divisive policy issue among Republicans - the allocation of a large financial aid package to Ukraine. Following threats from far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene against Johnson for putting a bipartisan spending bill to a vote, the speaker gained the support of some other far-right figures. Democrats made it clear that they would help Johnson retain his position if he pushed through a bill on Ukraine that they would definitely support. At the same time, a number of Democrats emphasized that if he insists on unacceptable provisions, such as spending cuts or new migration restrictions, he risks putting off both Democrats and right-wing Republicans who oppose aid to Ukraine.
Speaker Mike Johnson proposed tying any U.S. foreign aid to lifting the ban on natural gas exports previously imposed by President Joe Biden, Politico reported on April 2. According to the report, Johnson's proposal aims to persuade House Republicans to approve military aid to Ukraine. However, journalists note that the idea was "not a strong enough argument." Sources within the Republican Party told the journalists that while the gas issue would make it easier to vote for additional military aid to Kyiv, some conservatives would likely "expect more."
“To some Republicans, choosing gas exports as a concession looks too much like a personal win for Johnson even though it’s got a direct link to combating Russia, given the boost to energy producers in his home state of Louisiana, versus a genuine win for House Republicans,” the report said.
US President Joe Biden's aides were trying to privately persuade House Speaker Mike Johnson to put a US$60 billion aid package to Ukraine to a vote. Officials of the US President’s Administration revealed this to Politico on condition of anonymity, as reported by European Pravda. The sources said that the White House had been in contact with Johnson's office regarding assistance to Ukraine during the two-week recess in Congress, where Biden and his team refrained from aggressively attacking the speaker to give him room to manoeuvre due to pressure from radical Republicans.
The article says that despite their frustration with the slow pace of work in the House of Representatives, officials from the President’s administration hope that their approach can help Congress begin work on a bailout package later this month. Politico notes that it was unclear what that final package will look like, but the White House's focus remains on convincing Johnson of the urgency of providing aid to Ukraine.
White House officials argue that amending the bill to support Kyiv, which was passed by the Senate, would only delay aid, given the time it takes to draft and pass the bill in the House of Representatives and then return the amended bill to the Senate. But they also do not dismiss the idea, the newspaper writes, that Johnson may have to find some kind of cover to bring the Senate-approved aid package to the House floor, whether it was the appearance of a political victory or simply the belief that if he relies on Democratic votes to pass the legislation, it will not cost him his job.
Marjorie Taylor Greene [aka MTG] suggests Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan are enemies of the United States: "Giving aid and comfort to your enemies, that is treason. So this entire foreign aid bill by definition of our laws and our Constitution is committing treason."
"I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important. I think Vladimir Putin will continue march through Europe. I would rather send bullets to Ukraine, than American boys. This is not a game, not a joke!", - Mike Johnson state 19 April 2024. When asked why he was willing to lose his job when going forward with the foreign aid bills, Johnson responds: ‘I'm doing what I think is right here. I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important. I believe Putin will march through Europe otherwise. We can't play politics with this. We must do the right thing." Johnson was fighting for political survival, with his only hope the moderate Republicans and Democrats to keep him as speaker should MTG go ahead with her threats. This is the man that single handedly delayed aid for Ukraine for 6 months which in turn means that Russia has the upper hand at the moment. He delayed and delayed, now it’s all change!!
Greg Rossi concluded "I suspect GOP has a plan in place to delay aid to Ukraine further. Speaker Johnson has already served Putin enormously, getting thousands killed and advancing unfettered Russian aerial superiority. He's served Trump and Putin as best he can so far."
In a rare bipartisan move, 165 Democrats voted with 151 Republicans to prevent Rep. Mike Johnson's (R-La.) foreign aid package from being blocked, setting the stage for the bill to be passed early Saturday afternoon. By a 316-94 vote, the House passed a rule that will allow national security funding packages for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific to be voted on separately in the House, but bundled together in the Senate.
The U.S. House of Representatives on April 20 voted to approve a much-delayed aid package for Ukraine, seen as a critical lifeline for the country’s survival in the face of Russia's aggression. Kyiv is set to receive $60.84 billion in desperately needed aid after Democrats and Republicans finally joined together behind the legislation following months of Republican opposition over continued U.S. support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion. The bill passed by a vote of 311 to 112, with 101 Republicans voting in favor and 112 against. Three Democrats did not cast votes. The legislation will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to receive approval, and then to President Joe Biden for his signature.
Zelenskiy hailed the U.S. vote, saying it will "save thousands and thousands of lives." "We hope [the] bills will be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden's desk. Thank you, America!" "Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it," he wrote on social media. EU chief Charles Michel hailed the vote, saying it "sends a clear message to the Kremlin: Those who believe in freedom and UN charter will continue to support Ukraine and its people."
However, the Kremlin attacked the move, saying passage of the bill will make the United States “enriched," Ukraine "further ruined," and lead to more deaths there "because of the Kyiv regime.” Politico, citing two unidentified U.S. officials, reported ahead of the vote that the Pentagon is preparing to quickly approve a package of urgently needed weapons for Ukraine -- including artillery shells and air defenses -- to deliver if and when the aid is approved. The report quoted one official as saying the Defense Department is working on putting together a package of U.S. military equipment "that can move quickly through the bureaucratic process once the legislation passes and is signed by the president."
Like the bill passed in the Senate, it includes $13.8 billion for the purchase of advanced weapons systems, but the one in the House also contains a provision about more than $9 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine in the form of "forgivable loans." The White House would have the power to set the terms of the loan to Kyiv and also be given the authority to cancel it.
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