A pair of moderate House Republicans were unveiling an alternative foreign aid package on Thursday that combines military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with Trump-era border policy.
The latest wrinkle in Congress’ saga to send aid to the allies comes after two Senate foreign aid packages, one with border security and the other without, have been torpedoed by Republicans.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, teased the alternative supplemental spending package that he’s partnered with fellow Problem Solvers member Rep. Don Bacon, Nebraska Republican, telling reporters that it would weave Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan aid with former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.
The plan has also not been pitched to House Speaker Mike Johnson yet, but he said he is confident that it wouldn’t fail on the House floor if allowed a vote.
“I don’t think it will [fail] because ours is very short. It’s bare bones. It’s four elements, and they’re all equal to each other,” Mr. Fitzpatrick told reporters. “Same time period. I mean, it’s very airtight.”
The latest push for a foreign aid package shows the willingness of some House Republicans to move against Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican. The speaker proclaimed the Senate’s first aid package dead on arrival because it did not go far enough with border security, and refused to bring the second package to the floor because it has no border security policy at all.
The new proposal also underscores the urgency in Congress to get Ukraine more emergency funding, which has become increasingly unpopular among factions of the House GOP.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said his bill would be focused on military aid, meaning there would be no humanitarian aid for Gaza or Israel, like in previous versions. That means that the bill is likely billions of dollars less than the latest Senate aid package, which clocked in at $95 billion.
Not having humanitarian aid attached to the bill could lose support among some House Democrats, while progressive members in the House likely won’t approve of the latest legislation because it includes aid for Israel.
Some Democrats feel spurned by the GOP’s decision to tank the first Senate foreign aid and border policy package, and would rebuke moves to revive a version of that bill.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Democrat, said lawmakers negotiated the Senate border deal for months, only for Republicans to turn their back on it.
“When we came to a conclusion, they said no, not unlike what happened with Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy, saying something, agreeing to something and then moving back. You know, it’s deja vu,” Ms. DeLauro said.
Some Republicans believe that Mr. Johnson has to make a decision sooner rather than later on how to approach the lingering wartime problems abroad.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Texas Republican, said Mr. Johnson needs to negotiate with the White House to get a deal done. The speaker has requested and been denied a second meeting with President Biden on a path forward with border policy and foreign aid.
“My advice to him is, you’ve got to deal with this supplemental the same way we dealt with the debt ceiling,” Mr. Crenshaw said. “This is something that has to happen, so you got to go direct to the White House and negotiate with them because you’re the majority, negotiate with the White House, get their buy-in, and then you get a deal, that’s how it’s done.”
Adding to the pressure is that Congress has effectively left Washington until late February and will return to a must-hit deadline to fund the government on March 1. That means that foreign aid deals will likely take a back seat to the looming spending fight.
The White House accused Mr. Johnson of “cutting and running” from passing the Senate’s foreign aid bill, in a memo from spokesperson Andrew Bates on Thursday.
“But instead of ending his politicization of the country’s safety, Speaker Johnson is cutting and running, sending the House on an early, undeserved vacation as he continues to strengthen Russia’s murderous war effort and the Iranian regime at the expense of American national security, U.S. manufacturing jobs, and our closest alliances,” Mr. Bates wrote.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said that he would be in Ukraine next week meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that he would tell him that “things are alive and well in the House” in the push to get the war-beleaguered country more aid.
“There are enough of us that will not let Ukraine fail here, not on our watch,” he said.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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