Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson wants to meet with US President Joe Biden in person before taking any action on the aid bill for Ukraine and Israel. At the same time, he does not yet plan to put the bill to a vote.
Johnson wants a meeting with Biden
A source close to Johnson said the speaker wants a face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden before moving forward with an additional aid package for Ukraine and Israel.
According to the source, Johnson and his colleagues have repeatedly requested meetings with Biden over the past two months.
The latest meeting request came just over a week ago, days before the Senate passed a bipartisan $95 billion national security package and before House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Johnson's requests for a meeting were not necessarily about the Senate's version of additional aid, but rather about the overall path forward for the legislative package.
Meanwhile, a White House spokesman noted Johnson's inconsistency on the border, saying he needs to finish negotiating with himself and stop putting national security needs aside in the name of politics.
This body language says: “I know I'm in a difficult situation. Please bail me out," a Democratic source said of Johnson.
Biden already met with Johnson less than a month ago to discuss a bipartisan immigration deal that would unblock aid to Ukraine.
Aid to Ukraine from the USA
The Senate bill providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan was passed with the support of 70 senators.
The package provides for 60.06 billion dollars to support Ukraine. Now, they have to vote for it in the House of Representatives.
At the same time, in a comment to journalist Jake Sherman, Johnson said that he does not plan to vote on the bill approved by the Senate on aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
I certainly don’t [have] right now. We are dealing with the appropriations process. We have immediate deadlines upon us, and that's where the attention focuses now.
Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House of Representatives
