The new spending bill to keep the federal government open past Friday includes a dollop of funding to help Ukraine fight off invading Russians — even though House Republicans had rejected the cash a few months ago and giving Ukraine any more money may endanger House Speaker Mike Johnson’s standing in the party.
Buried in the 1,000-page-plus spending bill is a provision giving Ukraine $300 million to use on training, weapons and replenishing U.S. stocks of weapons sent there, among other things.
The amount is a pittance compared to the about $60 billion the Biden administration has requested to last Ukraine past the November elections and is in the bipartisan Senate foreign aid package that has yet to be taken up by the House.
But any amount of money going to Ukraine, which has been fighting off an unprovoked full-scale invasion by Russia since February 2022, is likely to set off alarm bells within part of the House Republican conference, where skepticism about Ukraine runs deep and the money at issue was rejected by most of the party in September.
“AT LEAST $300 million in additional funding for Ukraine in this minibus. This legislation is NOT a win for Americans,” posted Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) early Wednesday.
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative and libertarian House Republicans, scheduled a morning press conference to discuss the bill, which it will likely oppose.
In addition to the prospect of a restless Freedom Caucus, one House Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has threatened in the past to bring up a move to oust Johnson if he brought the big supplemental spending bill including Ukraine aid to the House floor. Whether she would consider the smaller amount a similar provocation is unclear.
The bill is expected to be brought to the House floor under a procedure requiring it get a two-thirds majority to pass, reflecting that Democrats will likely bring most of the votes for it, with House Republicans bringing the rest. But…
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