Rule for emergency aid bill adopted with Democratic support

“People are dying in Ukraine, yes, but the problem is they’re being funded with American debt,” Texas Rep. Chip Roy, one of the three Republicans to oppose the rule in committee late Thursday, said during debate. He added that “Americans are dying, not just Ukrainians, at the hands of wide-open borders.”

Still, Johnson, R-La., has dismissed the threat to his job, saying he had to focus on what he believes is important for the country, and top Democrats have suggested they would come to Johnson’s rescue if a floor vote on a motion to oust him occurs.

“I don’t worry. I just do my job,” Johnson said Friday. “I’m going to do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may.”

And the speaker was unable to bring a tough border bill to the floor under a rule because hard-liners wouldn’t support it if it wasn’t lashed to the Ukraine package. Instead, the chamber will vote on it under suspension of the rules, likely falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage on Saturday.

Recess, interrupted

Meanwhile, passage of the aid package Saturday is likely to require the Senate to give up much of its planned Passover recess next week to clear the measure quickly for President Joe Biden, who has promised to sign it.

Under the rule, the four pieces of the package will be stitched together and sent to the Senate as an amendment to that chamber’s foreign aid supplemental, which passed in February. This maneuver will allow the Senate to skip one big procedural vote — cloture on the motion to proceed — cutting down on days of floor time. Still, senators may be in for extended debate next week given several Republicans’ opposition to delivering more aid to Ukraine.

The aid bills for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region largely mirror the Senate package that will serve as the vehicle, with $60.8 billion for the Ukraine war effort and nearly $26.4 billion in military aid to Israel and humanitarian assistance for Gaza and other war-torn areas.

The Indo-Pacific bill, totaling $8.1 billion, would provide nearly $4 billion in security assistance to Taiwan and other regional allies along with money to replenish depleted U.S. stocks, $3.3 billion for submarine infrastructure and more.

But unlike the Senate-passed version, roughly $9.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine would be structured as a loan, with repayment terms set by the president.

A fourth bill tacked onto the package would impose sanctions on Russia and Iran, on multinational criminal organizations for fentanyl trafficking, Iranian petroleum and missiles, among other matters. The legislation also targets the social media platform TikTok, and would give Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. up to a year to divest the app.

The new House Rules chairman, Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas, said the aid package makes significant improvements to a Senate-passed measure by including provisions such as allowing for the seizure of frozen Russian assets to help pay for Ukraine assistance.

“Weakness invites aggression,” Burgess said. “And we cannot allow our allies in the Indo-Pacific, Israel and Ukraine to be abandoned.”

The rule allows the House to consider seven amendments to the package, including one by Greene that would eliminate all funding in the $60.8 billion Ukraine bill.

Other amendments that will be considered include one to prevent any of the $7.9 billion in direct economic aid to Ukraine from being used to pay the pensions or salaries of Ukrainian government officials, and another to eliminate all of the nonmilitary funding in the Ukraine package.

“The world is watching what the Congress does,” the Biden administration said in a statement Friday urging support for the package. “Passing this legislation would send a powerful message about the strength of American leadership at a pivotal moment.”

Paul M. Krawzak and Briana Reilly contributed to this report.