Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) said enough House Democrats would support a Ukraine loan and protect House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from a move to vacate if he put the bill on the floor for a vote. 

In an interview with the New Republic, Boyle said there are “reasons for cautious optimism” in getting House Republicans to vote for President Joe Biden’s $60 billion Ukraine aid bill. While Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voted against the bill last month, he has taken up former President Donald Trump’s idea to make any aid to Ukraine a no-interest, waivable loan. 

“It’s completely ridiculous, de facto this will not be a loan, however, if at the end of the day it gets us closer to passage if certain Republicans want to dress this up and call it a loan, it certainly wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me,” Boyle said.

If Johnson “bites the bullet” and can allow for a vote on the legislation, Boyle said he thinks it will pacify Trump enough in order for it to pass. He added that if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has previously threatened to oust Johnson if he moved forward with the deal, made a motion to vacate, he was confident Democrats would support him. 

“At the end of the day if Mike Johnson allows a vote and puts the bill on the floor, I actually believe it would pass, and then if Marjorie Taylor Greene files a motion to vacate, I think there are already enough Democrats now actually who have publicly said they would vote present that Mike Johnson would actually at the end of the day be OK, provided his Republican defectors were kept to single digits,” Boyle said.  

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Of Biden’s $60 billion ask, $48 billion would go back into America’s industrial base, according to Boyle. Meanwhile, the $12 billion leftover would be sent to Ukraine as a no-interest loan, which he said could make it “palatable” for Trump and his base.

Boyle added that “traditional” Republicans are supportive of sending aid to Ukraine and that 40% to 45% of the Republican conference would vote along with Democrats if the bill were allowed for a vote. However, it still remains uncertain if the loan idea will be adopted and if Democrats will go along with it.