Speaker Johnson tells White House Ukraine aid is ‘dependent on’ border policy changes
December 05, 2023 11:14 AM
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) responded to the White House’s latest request for increased aid to Ukraine, telling President Joe Biden that any additional funds approved by lawmakers would be “dependent” on the enactment of stricter security policies at the southern border.
In a message given to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young on Tuesday, Johnson laid out a number of requirements the speaker said must be met for the House to consider the president’s supplemental aid request to Ukraine. Among these requirements include “transformative change” to the country’s border security, information on how military aid has already been used, and the Biden administration’s strategy to “prevail” in Ukraine.
“I reiterate that President Biden must satisfy Congressional oversight inquiries about the Administration’s failure thus far to present clearly defined objectives, and its failure to provide essential weapons on a timely basis,” Johnson wrote. “American taxpayers deserve a full accounting of how prior U.S. military and humanitarian aid has been spent, and an explanation of the president’s strategy to ensure an accelerated path to victory. In light of the current state of the U.S. economy and the massive amount of our national debt, it is our duty in Congress to demand answers to these reasonable questions, and we still await the answers.”
The letter comes one day after Young sent a letter to congressional leaders on Monday that urged them to pass increased Ukraine aid and warned that without the funds, the war-torn country would run out of money by the end of the year if no action was taken. That letter reiterated the supplemental request submitted by Biden in late October that sought nearly $106 billion in funding, which included $61.4 billion in new aid for Ukraine.
The request also sought money for Israel, operations related to the southern border, and security assistance for Taiwan.
Johnson pushed back on the portion of the request seeking money for Israel, pointing to the House’s passage of the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act on Nov. 2, which would provide $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel and was coupled with cuts to the IRS. The Senate has not yet taken up the bill for consideration, favoring linking the Israel and Ukraine aid together.
“Senate Democrats, however, have refused to consider the measure,” Johnson wrote. “In fact, when given the chance to debate H.R. 6126, all 51 Senate Democrats voted to block consideration of the bill.”
The letter implores the president to take action on the southern border, citing record illegal immigration and an increase of illicit drugs that have been smuggled over the border during the Biden administration.
“The open U.S. border is an unconscionable and unsustainable catastrophe, and we have a moral responsibility to insist this madness stops immediately. Rather than engaging with Congressional Republicans to discuss logical reforms, the Biden Administration has ignored realty, choosing instead to engage in political posturing,” Johnson wrote. “We stand ready and willing to work with the Administration on a robust border security package that protects the interests of the American people.”
Johnson’s demand for increased border security in exchange for Ukraine aid comes even as the speaker reportedly told senators in a closed-door meeting last week that he didn’t have the votes to attach the two topics in a single bill. However, Republicans in the Senate have remained adamant about keeping the two together, resulting in lengthy negotiations with their Democratic counterparts ahead of an expected vote as soon as this week.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to address senators behind closed doors Tuesday via video to make the case for passing the Ukraine aid. On Monday, Schumer took the first step to tee up a vote in the Senate on Biden’s supplemental appropriations request, putting the Democratic-controlled Senate on the opposite path of the GOP-controlled House.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Office of Management and Budget but has not received a response.