Ukraine Aid Vote Not Expected in House for Weeks or Longer

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said over the weekend that he would move forward with Ukraine aid “right away” when Congress returned from Easter break next week, but Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that a vote likely won’t happen until mid-April or later due to divisions among Republicans.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) doubled down on her threat to force a vote to oust Johnson as speaker if he moves the aid forward, and it just takes one member of Congress to set the process in motion.

“Let me tell you, when he forces that vote, again, under suspension with no amendments, and funds Ukraine and people find out how angry their constituents are about it, that’s going to move the needle even more,” Greene said.

Other Republicans are looking for Johnson to get concessions from Biden for pushing through the $95 billion military aid bill that includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and a few billion for Taiwan.

In an interview on Sunday, Johnson said he was considering other options to arm Ukraine and expressed support for using frozen Russian Central Bank funds, which would mark a significant escalation in the US economic campaign against Moscow. A bipartisan bill to give the State Department the power to transfer Russian funds to Ukraine, known as the REPO Act, has strong support in Congress and could potentially be moved forward.

Democrats are looking to bypass Johnson to force a vote on the foreign military aid bill through a Discharge Petition, which requires 218 signatures. So far, it has 192 signatures as a group of 22 progressive Democrats are not signing on due to opposition to arming Israel to support the slaughter in Gaza, and only one Republican has added his signature.

Antiwar.com contributor John V. Walsh has been urging Americans to contact their representatives about the Discharge Petition. He wrote on April 1:

“The task for antiwar activists is straightforward. Contact your Representative in the House. (Here is a list of their phone numbers and email addresses.)

If they have not signed on to the Discharge Petition, congratulate them on their antiwar stance, express your support and urge them to stick to their position.

If they have signed on to the Discharge Petition, urge them to remove their signatures.  (Removing one’s signature can be done at any time before the 218 signature majority is reached.)  A list of the signatories as of March 22 before the two-week Easter recess can be found here.  (Signatures are not permitted when Congress is not in session.)”