The House will consider foreign aid legislation that would provide more assistance to Ukraine along with “important innovations” after the Easter recess, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Sunday.
Johnson told Fox News host Trey Gowdy that lawmakers have been “working to build a consensus” to address national security issues that he said begins with U.S. border security.
“We’ve been talking to all the members, especially now in the district work period. When we return after this work period, we’ll be moving a product,” Johnson said, suggesting there could be action as early as next week.
“It’s going to — I think — have some important innovations: The REPO Act. If we can use the seized assets of Russian oligarchs to allow the Ukrainians to fight them, that’s just pure poetry,” he said.
Johnson also mentioned a “loan concept” that has been floated by former President Donald Trump as a way to continue aid to Ukraine.
“We’re not just giving foreign aid, we’re setting it up in a relationship where they can provide it back to us when the time is right,” Johnson said.
The speaker said lawmakers want to “release” American energy and have natural gas exports that will “help unfund” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort in Ukraine.
“There’s a lot of things that we should do that make more sense and that I think we’ll have consensus around. We’re putting that product together and we’ll be moving it right after the district work period,” Johnson added.
In February, the Democrat-led Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill that would allocate money for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, responding to President Joe Biden’s national security supplemental request.
While the House has refused to consider the legislation, with Johnson insisting border security reforms must be part of the equation, some GOP members have pushed for alternatives.
During his conversation with Gowdy, Johnson also responded to a motion from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to oust him as speaker after the House passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill.
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“I think all of my other Republican colleagues recognize this is a distraction from our mission … to save the Republic and the only way we can do that is if we grow the House majority, win the Senate, and win the White House,” he said.
Calling Greene a “friend,” Johnson said he shares her frustrations about government spending. He added that they have exchanged text messages and plan to talk soon.
“I want to talk with her about reforming the budgeting and spending process going forward. That’s what Republicans are for. That’s the transformational kind of changes that we can forge, if we all stand together,” he said.