{"id":17553,"date":"2024-04-03T12:48:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T12:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/03\/johnsons-new-push-for-ukraine-aid-faces-divided-response-from-house-senate-republicans\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T12:48:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T12:48:29","slug":"johnsons-new-push-for-ukraine-aid-faces-divided-response-from-house-senate-republicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/03\/johnsons-new-push-for-ukraine-aid-faces-divided-response-from-house-senate-republicans\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson\u2019s new push for Ukraine aid faces divided response from House, Senate Republicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declared that he\u2019s committed to opposing Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine for the remainder of his term, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pitched a novel approach to continue funding the war effort \u2014 but Republican holdouts in both chambers may still derail the efforts of leadership to secure a new aid package.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re funding what appears to be yet another forever war that will bankrupt future generations \u2014 all while disregarding our own security as our southern border remains open,\u2019 Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital. \u2018It\u2019s absurd that overnighting more tax dollars to Ukraine is even a consideration. It should be totally off the table and replaced with a push for peace talks.\u2019<\/p>\n

Johnson revealed his intent to take action on Ukraine aid soon after lawmakers return to Washington next week during an appearance on Fox News Channel on Sunday night. It\u2019s been a hot-button issue for conservatives, but he suggested a plan that diverges significantly from the Senate-passed $95 billion package with aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.<\/p>\n

One potential piece of the House\u2019s forthcoming effort to provide resources to Ukraine is the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act. This measure would have the U.S. liquidate seized Russian assets and re-purpose those funds as more assistance for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

According to Johnson, this option is one of several possible alternatives that \u2018we should do that make more sense and I think we\u2019ll have consensus around.\u2019<\/p>\n

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., praised the plan on Monday night, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he is \u2018Encouraged to hear that Speaker Johnson will take up Ukraine aid when Congress reconvenes next week.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018This proposal or something similar, when combined with border security, would be a winning package for all concerned,\u2019 he said of the potential components of a package spearheaded by Johnson, which could also include aid in the form of a loan to the country, as well as taking steps to decrease reliance on foreign sources for energy.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s unclear if Johnson\u2019s plan for Ukraine would be attached to U.S. border security measures. Fox News Digital reached out to the speaker\u2019s office for clarification.<\/p>\n

Congressional Republicans killed a $118 billion package with aid for Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel and the U.S. border earlier this year, arguing it did not go far enough to tackle the ongoing border crisis. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Biden have been pressuring Johnson to take up the slimmer $95 billion package without border measures.<\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a staunch supporter of assistance to Ukraine, did not provide comment regarding the various potential routes being eyed by House Republicans. A spokesperson reiterated that McConnell\u2019s primary focus is getting aid to Ukraine in the quickest fashion possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a Monday radio interview in Kentucky, McConnell said he plans to \u2018put the main part of my focus in the coming years\u2019 on supporting Ukraine and pushing back against Russia\u2019s advances. He further claimed he would continue to fight \u2018isolationist\u2019 tendencies in his party, which have become increasingly popular among his Republican Senate colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee\u2019s Ranking Member James Risch, R-Idaho, said in a statement, \u2018Senator Risch has had numerous conversations with his colleagues about what should be in the supplemental, like his REPO bill to seize Russian sovereign assets.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018He looks forward to reviewing all the changes Speaker Johnson makes and what passes the House,\u2019 the spokesperson continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A House Foreign Affairs Committee aide told Fox News Digital that Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, hopes a \u2018strong version\u2019 of the REPO Act, which he helped introduce in the House, is part of the final package.<\/p>\n

Other Republicans were more hesitant to discuss specifics without a firm plan in place, and it\u2019s clear that the issue is still driving a wedge through the GOP.<\/p>\n

\u2018Speaker Johnson has said that a targeted bill to help Ukraine\u2019s defense will come to the floor once we get back from recess, and I will hold him to it,\u2019 Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital. \u2018Failure to support Ukraine plays right into the hands of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.\u2019<\/p>\n

Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said, \u2018We need to ensure that Ukraine has the weapons they need to win, and that Biden enforces sanctions on Putin.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, a number of Republicans remained skeptical of bringing any measure to address Ukraine aid to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., \u00a0told Fox News Digital, \u2018America\u2019s security must be our top priority. We cannot continue to borrow and spend money we don\u2019t have for wars overseas while failing to protect Americans from the Biden border invasion here at home. At a bare minimum, any package for military aid to Ukraine should be fully offset and must include H.R.2 with performance metrics to secure our own border.\u2019<\/p>\n

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, slammed the facilitation of \u2018an intractable, bloody proxy war,\u2019 citing the concerns playing out on America\u2019s southern border. \u2018We must keep our promise to the American people and secure our borders, first and foremost,\u2019 he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Lee\u2019s office, the senator considers these alternate Ukraine measures to be gimmicks that don\u2019t address the war\u2019s continuing with no end in sight. The liquidation of Russian assets and assistance being offered as a loan are tactics of misdirection that aren\u2019t likely to offset spending or be recouped in the long run, his office said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Regardless of how Johnson tries to mask more aid to Ukraine, it\u2019s still more aid to Ukraine,\u2019 Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in a statement. \u2018And it\u2019s an insult to Missouri taxpayers that\u00a0the House wants to give\u00a0Ukraine oligarchs more money before\u00a0they renew RECA and give\u00a0radiation victims in Missouri and across the U.S. the compensation they deserve. We should put Americans first, not Ukraine.\u2019<\/p>\n

Several offices in both chambers are holding out on addressing the potential components of a House Ukraine package until they become more official.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declared that he\u2019s committed to opposing Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine for the remainder of his term, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has pitched a novel approach to continue funding the war effort \u2014 but Republican holdouts in both chambers may still derail the efforts of leadership to secure <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}