Democrats in the US will wait to respond to the Republican-led House's proposal to consider national security assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan separately instead of as one bill.
The House Speaker, Mike
Johnson, announced on Monday that the House would consider the aid this week in separate pieces of legislation, causing uncertainty about the long-awaited $95 billion package, particularly for Ukraine, due to opposition from some far-right Republicans who have threatened to remove
Johnson if he allows a vote on aid for Kyiv.
House and Senate Democrats, along with the White House, are considering new proposals from Senator Ron
Johnson regarding Ukraine aid.
Johnson's plan was endorsed by the leaders of several committees and subcommittees.
These officials emphasized the urgency of passing the aid package this week due to critical situations on the ground in Ukraine.
The House is also considering passing the Senate's February-approved legislation as the quickest strategy.
Representatives Mike Turner and Jim Himes, from the intelligence panel, also stressed the importance of passing aid immediately after a classified briefing.
The text discusses the potential delay in passing
COVID-19 aid legislation due to the consideration of separate bills in the House and Senate.
This process could add weeks to the timeline as each bill must pass in both chambers before being sent to President Biden for signature.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar have expressed the importance of seeing the substance of the proposals before making any judgments.
Schumer emphasized the urgency of the situation, while Aguilar emphasized the need to support allies.
The text of four separate bills for providing assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and partners in the Indo-Pacific against aggression from Russia, Hamas, and China was expected to be released late Tuesday.
The order of consideration in the House was uncertain, with Republicans pushing for immediate aid to Israel while Democrats have rejected this approach and also want aid for Ukraine.
The White House has not yet indicated its support for these standalone bills.
The speaker is proposing a bill to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and resources to the Indo-Pacific.
The proposal seems beneficial at first glance, but there is a need for more details.
The fourth bill will include additional sanctions on Russia and Iran, as well as the "REPO Act" for seizing Russian assets to help Ukraine.
Ukraine backers have been pushing for supplemental funding, but
Johnson has given various reasons to delay.
Some hard-right Republicans, including those aligned with former President Trump, oppose sending more money to Ukraine.
Two far-right Republican lawmakers have threatened to try and remove Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) if he allows a vote on aid for Ukraine.
McCarthy has stated that he will not resign.
It's uncertain if McCarthy would be removed in the event of a conservative uprising, as some Democrats have indicated they would vote to keep McCarthy in his position to prevent House chaos.
Last year, conservatives ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, and it took three weeks before McCarthy was elected.