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Speaker Braves GOP Revolt, Unlocks $61B Ukraine Lifeline As Kyiv Warns Of Defeat

Published

7 months ago

Apr 20, 2024.

House Passes $61B Ukraine Aid Package in Tough Bipartisan Vote
112 Republicans Vote ‘No’ Despite Zelenskiy’s Warning of Defeat
Speaker Johnson Forced to Lean on Democrats Amid GOP Revolt

Eko Hot Blog reports that in a hard-fought vote that laid bare deepening Republican divisions, the House of Representatives on Saturday signed off on a $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine following months of delays as Kyiv warned it was facing defeat without fresh ammunition and air defenses.

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The 311-112 bipartisan tally represented a major political victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, who was forced to join hands with Democrats to muscle the long-stalled bill over the finish line.

The Oklahoma Republican faced a revolt from within his own ranks, with 112 GOP members – a majority of the caucus – opposed to shipping more funds into the two-year conflict with Russia.

Johnson deployed controversial procedural tactics to splinter the nearly $95 billion total package into four separate bills, a move that permitted hard-line conservatives to reject the Ukraine aid while still backing $26 billion for Israeli defense systems like Iron Dome. The additional Israeli funding sailed through on an overwhelming 365-57 vote.

Unlocks $61B Ukraine Lifeline

As members returned to the Capitol for an unscheduled weekend session, tensions were running high on the House floor. Applause erupted when the Ukraine portion was approved, with the chair admonishing members for waving Ukrainian flags. And in an 11th-hour appeal, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused prospective Republican ‘no’ voters of aligning themselves with the “evil” agenda of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I hope our colleagues will choose democracy and decency rather than autocracy and evil, because I fear if you choose the Putin route, you will have blood on your hands,” warned Pelosi in a graphic speech.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy swiftly expressed gratitude, voicing relief that American assistance would continue unabated with the military aid approved after extensive wartime pleas to Congress and the White House.

“The vital US aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger,” Zelenskiy said, personally thanking Johnson “for the decision that keeps history on the right track.”

Beyond the headline $61 billion figure for Ukraine’s military, the package sets aside tens of billions more to replenish depleted U.S. stockpiles, fund American military operations in the region, and provide economic and humanitarian assistance. This includes roughly $23 billion to restock American munitions inventories and $14 billion to directly purchase advanced weapons for Ukraine from U.S. defense contractors.

In addition, $8 billion in non-military aid aims to keep Ukraine’s government afloat by paying salaries, pensions and other operating costs. Another $9 billion in humanitarian relief targets civilian populations displaced by the fighting in Ukraine as well as other conflict zones like Haiti, Sudan and Gaza.

Reflecting the challenging path forward, the legislation must now be re-approved by the Senate before it can reach President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature, ensuring more arduous negotiations and the risk of additional Republican defections.

Even securing the House vote proved a political tightrope walk for Johnson, who was ultimately forced to rely on Democrats to clear the necessary procedural hurdles. On a key 316-94 vote to advance the bills, he received the support of just 151 Republicans, with 165 Democrats providing the remainder of the majority.

Hard-liners within Johnson’s caucus, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), condemned his outreach across the aisle as a capitulation of the Republican agenda.

“We do not have a Republican majority anymore, our Republican Speaker is literally controlled by the Democrats and giving them everything they want,” Greene fumed on social media ahead of the vote.

Greene and others charge that Ukraine’s security requirements represent an unlimited money pit draining domestic priorities. She has filed a long-shot bid to depose Johnson as Speaker, a push that gained new supporters in recent days with Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) signing onto the effort.

For his part, Johnson defended the need to fortify Ukraine as a front-line bulwark against further Russian territorial ambitions while acknowledging his own precarious political standing.

“I believe that Xi and Vladimir Putin and Iran really are an axis of evil,” the Speaker told reporters earlier this week. “I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if we allow Ukraine to fail.”

Unlocks $61B Ukraine Lifeline

“I’m willing to take a personal risk for that, because we have to do the right thing,” Johnson added. “And history will judge us.”

The ultimate size and composition of the Ukraine package represented a compromise between the House and Senate, which had previously approved $62 billion in total aid in February but spread it across two separate bills.

The final $61 billion military portion was about $1 billion shy of the Senate level, but added a controversial provision designating $10 billion as a repayable loan in a concession to conservative fiscal hawks.