Democrats try to force a vote on $61B Ukraine aid package

Democrats are eyeing up a new work-around to force Ukraine aid to the House floor and bypass Speaker Mike Johnson’s hesitancy. Democratic leaders have quietly put in place the mechanisms that could advance a discharge petition, which would force a floor vote on Ukraine aid if a majority of lawmakers sign onto it.

‘Coming soon: Democrats will introduce a discharge petition to bring Ukraine funding to the House floor,’ Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., wrote on X. ‘I will be on line to sign it. The votes are there. Are there a dozen republicans with a shred of courage to sign it and help Ukraine survive? Stay tuned.’

‘I’ve heard more about a discharge petition in the last two days from foreign leaders—at the highest levels—than in my prior 11 years in office combined,’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at the Munich Security Conference. Meanwhile the Biden administration has slapped Russia with 500 new sanctions after the death of Vladimir Putin dissident Alexei Navalny in prison and the arrest of an American ballerina who donated $51 to Ukraine.

Last week the Senate passed a $95 billion Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Indo-Pacific aid package that Johnson has said the House won’t be pressured into passing. He has said he first needs to sit down with President Biden to discuss attaching border measures. GOP leadership has said they won’t prioritize any foreign aid until after a spending plan for fiscal year 2024 is passed.

Deadlines are fast approaching on March 1 and March 8 to pass spending bills to fund the government, five months after the original deadline, which has been punted three times with continuing resolutions. Last week top Rules Committee Democrat Rep. Jim McGovern filed a resolution ‘to advance responsible policies,’ which could be the legislative vehicle used to force a vote on Ukraine aid or the Senate-passed full foreign aid deal.

If they pursued the Senate deal, some progressive Democrats would likely peel off and vote no over opposition to Israel aid. Ukraine aid on its own is largely supported by the Democratic caucus. Democrats would need the votes of a handful of Republicans too to get to a 218 majority of signatures on their petition.

It’s not clear if any Republicans will buck their leadership and sign onto the Democratic effort, though there are a number of moderates who have not ruled it out. Separately a bipartisan group is pushing for a different Ukraine funding mechanism in a military-only aid and border security bill. That bill offers $66 billion in defense-only aid for Ukraine , Israel and Taiwan and fresh border security provisions that would last a year.

It also includes a ‘Remain in Mexico ’ provision which would resurrect the Trump-era policy requiring migrants who claim asylum to wait in Mexico until their claim is processed. Another provision requires the Homeland Security secretary to suspend all entry of ‘inadmissible aliens ’ if at any point the department loses operational control of the border.

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