MAGA Mike Decouples His Aid Bill For Ukraine, Israel

After months of inaction, MAGA Mike Johnson last night unveiled an outline of his plan to address the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, defying Republicans who threatened to oust him from the speakership if he moved forward with funding for Ukraine. Via the Washington Post:

But Johnson (R-La.) risks angering many of his members with a convoluted plan aiming to placate his critics on the right, while also giving national security hawks a chance to advance billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Johnson plans to put four different bills on the floor, essentially decoupling aid for Israel — which faced a barrage of missiles and drone threats from Iran over the weekend in retaliation for a deadly airstrike on its consulate in Syria — from help for Ukraine, which is more controversial inside his conference. The speaker will then advance separate votes for aid to Taiwan and a measure to satisfy Republican foreign policy demands, including the seizure of Russian assets and a House-approved bill that could ban TikTok from the United States, among other measures.

A draft of Johnson’s plan mirrors the Senate bill, according to five people familiar with the numbers, but may not include humanitarian assistance mainly directed toward Gaza.

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