On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) unveiled three foreign military aid bills for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, totaling over $95 billion in spending.
The three bills match roughly with the $95 billion foreign military aid bill that was passed by the Senate, although Israel will get a boost in military aid. Some of the economic aid for Ukraine is in the form of repayable loans. However, reports say Kyiv is not actually expected to pay it back and that the Biden administration will have the power to cancel the debt. The bill to fund the proxy war in Ukraine totals nearly $61 billion.
The Israel bill totals $26 billion, the majority of which will go toward supporting the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and replenishing air defenses following Iran’s reprisal attack. It includes $9 billion in humanitarian aid, which Democrats said was necessary for them to support Johnson’s effort.
Over $8 billion will go toward spending in the Asia Pacific to prepare for a future war with China, including a few billion in military aid for Taiwan. The US has consistently sold weapons to Taiwan since severing relations with Taipei in 1979 but began providing unprecedented military aid last year, a move that significantly raised tensions with China.
Johnson will release a fourth bill for so-called “national security” purposes. The bill is expected to include a TikTok ban over unfounded allegations that the popular video-sharing app is a Chinese spy tool. It is also expected to give the federal government the power to sell off frozen Russian assets to make more money available for Ukraine, which would amount to outright theft.
Johnson is pushing ahead with the plan despite threats from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) to hold a vote to oust him. Some House Democrats have signaled they would support Johnson to prevent his ouster if he gave them what they wanted in the bills.
President Biden came out in support of Johnson’s effort and called for a quick vote. “The House must pass the package this week, and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed,” Biden said.
