WASHINGTON — The Senate’s big bipartisan vote Tuesday passing billions in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan has turned up the heat on Speaker Mike Johnson and the House to do something to help some of America’s key allies.
But Johnson, R-La., signaled he won’t bring the Senate-passed package to the floor unless it’s paired with strict border policies endorsed by House Republicans after he helped kill a version of the Senate bill that included border security and asylum provisions.
Here are six possible options for Johnson as he weighs what to do about foreign aid.
Put the Senate bill on the floor
The only course of action to quickly guarantee aid to Ukraine and Israel is if Johnson puts the Senate-passed $95 billion foreign aid package on the House floor for a vote. Even Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, acknowledged that if the bill were put on the floor, “it would pass — let’s just be frank about that.”
But that scenario is extremely unlikely in the House, where GOP support for Ukraine continues to wane. Asked Tuesday whether he would put the aid package on the floor as is, Johnson threw cold water on it. “National security begins with border security,” he replied.
And, to make matters more complicated for Johnson, any member can trigger a vote to oust him from the job, as happened to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October after McCarthy worked across the aisle to keep the government open.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has already threatened Johnson with a “motion to vacate” should he put any aid for Ukraine on the floor.
“I just told him it’s an absolute no-go,” Greene told reporters of their private conversation last month. “If he funds $60 billion to fund a war in Ukraine to continue killing a whole generation of Ukrainian men, to continue a war that is a losing war … yeah, I would introduce the motion to vacate myself.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who rarely weighs in publicly on the House process, has urged Johnson to take up the bill. The two met privately Thursday moments before Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., moved ahead on the border-less national security package last week.
“History settles every account,” McConnell said in a statement released shortly after the Senate’s vote. “And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”
Splitting the package
Another idea that has been kicking around the Capitol is to split the Ukraine and Israel aid into two bills, try to pass them separately, then possibly repackage them together and send them back to the Senate.
It’s a procedural tool — dubbed “dividing the question” — that Nancy Pelosi and other past speakers have used when they’ve needed to pass politically complicated legislation. Johnson communicated his likely intention to proceed with that option at a private meeting last week with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who is an ally of Johnson’s.
Dividing the aid package in two would allow one bipartisan coalition of lawmakers — Republicans and most Democrats — to pass the Israel aid and another coalition — Democrats and more hawkish Republicans — to pass the Ukraine measure. Many conservatives have opposed passing additional Ukraine aid, while many progressives have protested sending more money to Israel as it carries out a deadly military campaign in Gaza.
But that option faces a huge challenge, as well. To divide the question, the House Rules Committee would need to sign off first. Just a handful of conservatives on the GOP-led committee, who are likely to oppose that plan, would have the power to derail it if Democrats teamed up with them.
There’s also a question of whether Democrats would agree to help Republicans pass such a rule on the House floor; the minority party typically opposes rule votes, which are first steps to passing most legislation, except in rare circumstances.
Bringing only Israel or Ukraine aid to the floor without the other would fail. Last week, a $17.6 billion Israel stand-alone aid bill failed; most Democrats opposed it because it lacked funding for Ukraine.
Forcing a vote with a ‘discharge petition’
Some moderate members in both parties have floated a “discharge petition” as a way to bypass Johnson’s leadership team entirely and force a vote on the Senate-passed bill.
It’s a rarely used tool, in large part because it requires 218 signatures — a majority of the full chamber — to force a vote. A handful of Republicans would need to join all Democrats for the procedural tactic to succeed.
“I’d certainly oppose it, and I hope that it would not be considered,” Johnson replied when he was asked about a potential…
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