Ukraine aid bill takes backseat to funding government, Speaker Mike Johnson tells The Post
By Social Links for Josh Christenson and
Social Links for Ryan King
Published March 14, 2024, 11:55 a.m. ET
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated Wednesday evening that the chamber won’t move on a supplemental aid package for Ukraine until it finishes the work of funding the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year.
Johnson (R-La.) underscored his support for Kyiv against Russia’s invasion during a “Fireside Chat’ with The Post’s Josh Christenson at the House GOP Issues Conference, but claimed that moving too quickly on a bill that includes $60 billion in assistance for Eastern Europe could have sunk government spending talks.
“It was important for us to not put the supplemental in front of the appropriations bills because it would affect, probably, the vote tally ultimately on the appropriations and we had to get our government funded,” Johnson said.
House Republicans have been at odds for approximately six months over government funding and leadership has repeatedly been forced to lean on Democrats to avoid partial government shutdowns.
The intraparty strife over appropriations helped pave the way for the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last October. Many hardliners in his conference have railed against further Ukraine aid and some have even threatened to try to boot Johnson if he brings up the topic for a vote.
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https://nypost.com/2024/03/14/us-news/speaker-mike-johnson-tells-the-post-ukraine-aid-bill-takes-backseat-to-funding-government/
