Where Speaker Mike Johnson stands on Ukraine, Israel
Defense &
National Security
Defense &
National Security
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The Big Story
Where Speaker Johnson stands on Ukraine, Israel
House Republican Vice Chair Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday became the chamber’s Speaker, three weeks after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R- Calif.) was ousted.
© AP Photo / Kostiantyn Liberov
On Tuesday, Johnson became his conference’s fourth nominee to replace McCarthy, and he takes over in the midst of multiple international crises, most notably in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine.
There has been a split in the House GOP over aid to Ukraine for its war against Russia, making the passage of some recent bills a tough hill to climb in the lower chamber.
President Biden announced the sending of a budget request to Congress requesting aid for both Israel and Ukraine in a speech last Thursday. The request is expected to be about $100 billion, with a large portion of the funds allocated for Ukraine.
In the wake of Ukraine’s invasion in February 2022, Johnson made a strong statement in support of Ukraine in its effort to fight back against Russia.
“We should impose debilitating sanctions on Russia’s economic interests,” Johnson said in the statement, posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In recent times, however, he has taken a skeptical stance toward aid for Ukraine. He voted against two different appropriations bills that provided aid to the Eastern European country — one in 2022 and another last month.
“American taxpayers have sent over $100 billion in aid to Ukraine in the last year,” Johnson said in an X post in February. “They deserve to know if the Ukrainian government is being entirely forthcoming and transparent about the use of this massive sum of taxpayer resources.”
In contrast, he has been strong in his support for Israel amid its conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
In a post on X on Thursday, Johnson appeared to say Biden’s recent Oval Office speech “only confirms the urgent need for the U.S. to act in support of our great ally, Israel, as they fight against Hamas terrorists.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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On Tap Tomorrow
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The National Endowment for Democracy, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and the U.S. Institute of Peace will host a discussion on “Expanding Ukraine’s Democratic and Electoral Progress During War,” with Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, at 10 a.m.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin (D-Md.) will discuss with media the recent Senate delegation travel to the Middle East at 10:30 a.m.
Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft will have an online talk about “The Gaza War and U.S. Middle East Policy: Appraising the Biden Administration,” at 12 p.m.
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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!