House Speaker Mike Johnson promised to be an “ambassador of hope” on Easter Sunday by moving forward with a vote on military aid for Ukraine, even as he faces a rebellion led by far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for passing a government funding bill before the holiday recess.
Johnson (R-La.) affirmed he would push to provide further assistance to Kyiv’s war effort against Russia when Congress returns on April 9, while floating “some important innovations” for the source of the funding during an Easter Sunday interview with Fox News.
“If we could use the seized assets of Russian oligarchs to allow the Ukrainians to fight them, that’s just pure poetry,” the House speaker said on “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy.”
“Even President Trump has talked about the loan concept,” added Johnson, 52. “We’re not just giving foreign aid — we’re setting it up in a relationship where they can provide it back to us when the time is right.”
“And then, you know, we want to unleash American energy,” he also said. “We want to have natural gas exports that will help unfund [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s war effort there.”
Johnson has repeatedly opposed Russia’s war of aggression and voiced support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — but has withheld $60 billion in no-strings-attached funding for Ukraine from a House floor vote since February.
In November, he floated to The Post the idea of seizing $300 billion in Russian assets, which had been earlier written into a bill by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), known as the REPO for Ukrainians Act.
The Senate in mid-February passed a $95 billion funding bill with the $60 billion provision for Ukraine — along with aid for Israel and Taiwan — which former President Donald Trump attacked for not being provided in the form of a loan.
“WE SHOULD NEVER GIVE MONEY ANYMORE WITHOUT THE HOPE OF A PAYBACK, OR WITHOUT ‘STRINGS; ATTACHED. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SHOULD BE ‘STUPID’ NO LONGER!” he posted on Truth Social.
It’s unclear whether the entire House Republican conference would get behind even alternative funding sources for that level of foreign military assistance — the majority of which would go to Ukraine — or if Johnson will need Democratic support to pass the legislation.
A February poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found a majority of Republicans (55%) and a plurality of Americans (37%) believe the US is spending “too much” on Ukraine aid.
Moderate Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said it was nevertheless “very likely that after this Ukraine bill, we may have a standoff with the speaker” and hardline opponents like Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Johnson told The Post in a recent interview that the assistance had taken a backseat to two funding packages in March that threatened a government-wide shutdown — and emphasized that GOP leaders were not done pressuring President Biden and Democrats for change at the southern border.
But with the passage of the second package on March 22, which many Republicans opposed due to its lack of border security funding, Taylor Greene moved to vacate Johnson’s speakership, filing a motion that could be called up as soon as the Ukraine bill hits the floor next week.
Though not filed under privilege, meaning it will not come up for a vote automatically when House lawmakers return, Taylor Greene issued a clear warning to Johnson on the last day in session: “He should not bring funding for Ukraine.”
That same day was the last day in Congress for Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) — and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) stunned colleagues by announcing his own resignation hours after Taylor Greene threw down the challenge to Johnson.
Gallagher’s decision to step down April 19 will leave his seat vacant until the general election, per Wisconsin law.
That will leave Republicans with a one-vote majority until special elections take place later this year to install successors to Buck, former Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), all of whom resigned before the end of their terms.
A House Republican aide told The Post last week that there was no “appetite to dump” Johnson less than six months after McCarthy’s ouster over a similar government funding deal involving Ukraine.
Democrats like Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) have also signaled their support for Johnson amid the threat to his leadership, while others like Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) have conditioned a vote to keep him on Ukraine aid being passed.
“I think all of my other Republican colleagues recognize this is a distraction from our mission,” the speaker said Sunday of Taylor Greene’s motion. “She’s very frustrated about, for example, the last appropriations bills.”
“Guess what? So am I,” he added. “But with the smallest margin in US history, we’re sometimes going to get legislation that we don’t like.”
Johnson also blamed the majority of House Republicans who opposed the second funding bill for giving Democrats the upper hand with their fractiousness.
“When we don’t all stand together with our razor-thin majority, then they have a better negotiation position,” he said. “We got to realize I can’t throw a Hail Mary pass on every single play. It’s three yards and a cloud of dust, right?”
