Media: Speaker Johnson wants private meeting with Biden before moving forward on Ukraine aid
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants an in-person, one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden before he takes any action on the $95 billion foreign aid bill that the Senate passed on Feb. 13, NBC reported on Feb. 14, citing a source close to Johnson.
The bill, which contains $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, passed by a margin of 70-29 after months of deadlock. The vast majority of those who voted against the bill were Republicans, although two Democratic senators and one independent, former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, joined the dissenters on the grounds that the bill also contained security assistance for Israel.
The bill now faces an uphill battle in the Republican-led House. Johnson preemptively signaled he opposed the legislation before the Senate even passed it.
The move angered some Republican senators, who felt that it was "disrespectful" of the significant effort required to move it through the Senate.
Johnson has requested personal meetings with Biden several times in recent weeks, which Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise claimed the president has "refused."
Democratic sources told NBC that Johnson has backed himself into a corner after a series of inconsistent positions on aid for Ukraine and legislative changes to domestic border issues.
Johnson is also facing significant pressure from former President Donald Trump, who is also the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for president.
Trump has made it clear that he does not want to see Biden notch a legislative win ahead of the general election. He has also said he wants an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, likely on terms unfavorable to Kyiv.
Republican senators who voted for the bill have urged Johnson to bring it to a vote in the House.
"If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wins, Republicans will lose," said Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
Should Ukrainian forces face a "resounding defeat" or if Russia is "knocking on the doors of Kyiv," Republicans who held up military aid will "have to answer for that to the people back home," Tillis said.
