Published January 12, 2024
House Democrats wasted no time this week rejecting Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) demands for strict new border security measures in return for Ukraine aid, posing the latest obstacle in Congress’s efforts to move another round of military assistance for the embattled U.S. ally.
Johnson said Wednesday House Republicans would oppose any new aid for Kyiv unless it was accompanied by major provisions of the GOP’s previously passed border bill, including the reinstallation of the “remain in Mexico” policy, begun under former President Trump, and hundreds of miles of new wall construction on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“That border fight is coming, and we’re going to die on that hill,” he told the conservative radio pundit Hugh Hewitt.
The remarks sparked an immediate backlash from House Democrats, who are supportive of new border security funding, but not the tough immigration restrictions favored by Republicans. They’re vowing to sink any Ukraine package that includes those provisions if Johnson brings it to the floor — a notable threat since Democratic votes would be needed to move the bill.
“That would be ridiculous. Unfortunately it would be to the detriment of Ukraine if they did that,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said.
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SOURCE: www.thehill.com
RELATED: GOP Hard Liners Confront Mike Johnson Over Spending, Border
Small group of House Republicans blocks routine action on floor
Published January 11, 2024
WASHINGTON—Angry House Republicans turned up the pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) to take a tougher line with Democrats on spending cuts and tightening the border, openly criticizing his leadership while bringing action on the floor to a halt Wednesday.
About a dozen hard-line GOP members voted with all Democrats to block a routine, noncontroversial measure called a rule, prompting party leaders to then cancel votes for the rest of the day. A similar protest last year froze action for about a week, and foreshadowed fraught votes later in the year that…
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SOURCE: www.wsj.com
RELATED: Speaker Mike Johnson faces narrow majority and tough vote math in looming government funding fight
Published January 9, 2024
Speaker Mike Johnson is facing an extremely narrow majority in the House and tough vote math as Congress confronts upcoming battles over government funding, aid to Ukraine and Israel and border security.
At the start of the new year, Republicans control just 220 seats while Democrats control 213, which means the House GOP can’t afford to lose more than a few votes to pass party-line priorities. Additionally, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s office has announced that he will work remotely until returning to Washington in February as he recovers from a stem cell transplant.
The House Republican majority will shrink even further by the end of the month with Ohio GOP Rep. Bill Johnson resigning from Congress on January 21 to take a new job as president of Youngstown State University. At that point, Republicans will control 219 seats to 213 for Democrats.
