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SPECIAL EDITION

Johnson moves on foreign aid. Can he survive?
Speaker Mike Johnson has released bills to send tens of billions of dollars in aid to Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, setting up a vote Saturday on the long-awaited priority.
Here are the bills: Israel, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific. Here’s a fact sheet from the House Appropriations Committee.
The legislation clocks in at $95 billion in defense, economic and humanitarian funding, similar to what the Senate approved two months ago.
This is a major victory for President Joe Biden, who has been lobbying for months for aid to Kyiv.
But it nearly guarantees that hardline Republicans will seek to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. More on that in a minute.
Israel: The House bill sends $26.4 billion to Israel, including $4 billion to replenish the Jewish State’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems. These systems, which the United States has supported for years, have helped protect Israelis from the onslaught of Hamas rockets fired from Gaza. The legislation also includes $4.4 billion to “replenish defense articles and defense services provided to Israel,” according to appropriations.
There’s also more than $9 billion for humanitarian relief. This is a red line for Democrats. If Johnson is going to get their support to pass both the rule and the overall package, the speaker needs to include it.
The money isn’t specifically for Palestinians, but it also cannot be routed through the UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. That’s the main organization for Palestinian relief aid. However, Israel has accused some UNRWA employees of taking part in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks that began the war.
Ukraine: The package includes almost $61 billion for the war in Ukraine. That’s money that Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have long lobbied Congress to approve.
House Republican leaders note that $23 billion of that total will go to replenish U.S. stockpiles of weapons given to the Ukrainians. There will be more oversight of funds and equipment given to Ukraine, and a system will be set up for repayment of $10 billion in economic aid.
Indo-Pacific: The smallest title in the bill — $8.12 billion — is for beefing up the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific, specifically Taiwan. There’s $3.3 billion for “submarine infrastructure,” $2 billion in foreign military financing and $1.9 billion to refresh defense stocks throughout the region.
What this means for Johnson. Johnson is pushing for a vote as soon as Saturday afternoon on this package and an unrelated border-security measure based on H.R. 2, the hardline GOP border-security legislation that the House passed last year.
But it seems certain now that hardline conservatives will seek to oust Johnson. We expect that someone will trigger a motion to vacate after the House returns from its weeklong recess.
During a contentious meeting Tuesday night in Johnson’s office, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) warned Republicans that he would personally campaign against any lawmaker who voted for Ukraine aid.
Gaetz also told Johnson that hardliners would seek to oust him for this decision. Johnson didn’t respond to Gaetz’s warning.
Several GOP moderates who attended this meeting countered Gaetz’s boast, saying his campaigning in their district would probably help them.
House Democrats are all but certain to help Johnson remain speaker — should he decide to do so. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has hinted that if Johnson scheduled a vote on Ukraine aid, Democrats would protect him from a motion to vacate.
— Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.

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