Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called for the United States to use “every means possible” to stop Russia’s advance in Ukraine after Alexei Navalny, a top Putin critic, died in prison under mysterious circumstances.

Johnson has made similar declarations in the past. Before becoming speaker last October, he flatly stated that “Ukraine has to prevail” against Russia. But he also has fueled doubts about his commitment to further aid to the embattled ally, demanding accountability over how funds are spent and refusing a vote until Congress reaches an agreement on border security.

“We understand that there’s concern about the safety and security and sovereignty of Ukraine, but the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty and our safety and our security,” Johnson told reporters in January after a Ukraine briefing at the White House.

The Senate attempted to pair tens of billions in foreign aid with a border compromise negotiated with the White House, but Johnson rejected the bill as insufficiently conservative. The House will “work its will” instead, he said Monday, yet President Joe Biden’s refusal to sit down with him, plus the speaker’s unwillingness to be “rushed” into revised legislation, has dimmed hopes of getting the aid through Congress.

Johnson reaffirmed his resolve on Friday, however, following reports that Navalny, an imprisoned Russian opposition leader, had died. He denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “vicious dictator” over Navalny’s apparent assassination and called on world leaders to present “united opposition” to Russian aggression.

“As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States, and our partners, must be using every means available to cut off Putin’s ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states,” Johnson said in a statement.

Ukraine supporters in Congress have attempted to overcome the impasse between Johnson and the White House. House Democrats are considering a discharge petition to bring the Senate’s $95 billion foreign aid bill to the floor over the speaker’s objections.

That measure passed the upper chamber in a bipartisan 70-29 vote on Monday and likely would enjoy overwhelming support in the House.

Meanwhile, a group of centrists released a pared-down version of the bill on Friday that excluded billions in humanitarian assistance to Gaza and proposed a border compromise that may be more palatable to Republicans.

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Biden on Friday called Navalny’s death one more reason for Congress to fund the Ukraine aid.

“History is watching the House of Representatives,” he said in a White House speech.