A small group of bipartisan House lawmakers has unveiled their own plan to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and crack down on illegal crossings at the southern border, an effort to put additional pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson to act on Ukraine aid even as House lawmakers recess until the end of the month.
Despite the Senate passing a bipartisan bill that provided $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan earlier this week, Johnson has signaled he won’t bring that bill to the floor in the House as he faces pressure from his right flank not to act on Ukraine aid.
It’s not clear that the new bill will break through in a chamber where there has been growing conservative resistance to voting on more aid to Ukraine and likely liberal opposition to some of the immigration provisions included in the bill.
The plan, which was authored by 10 members including Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Maine Democrat Rep. Jared Golden, would provide more than $66 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but would not provide the same humanitarian aid included in the Senate bill.
The legislation would also restore the so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires individuals seeking asylum to return to Mexico until their case is ready for court in the US.
“Securing one’s borders is necessary to preserve one’s democracy and therefore necessary to maintaining world order and world peace,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “But we also have an obligation to assist our allies in securing their borders, especially when they come under assault by dictators, terrorists and totalitarians.”
Fitzpatrick told CNN that Republicans who authored the bill plan will discuss their legislation with Johnson in the days ahead.
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