Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson held a private meeting with his fellow Republicans.
This was reported by the CNN channel with reference to congressmen who participated in the conversation.
According to these interlocutors, Johnson rejects the bill approved by the Senate on February 13, but allows a vote on "a new proposal that appeared in the House of Representatives." Pro-Ukraine Republicans are trying to win support for a new bipartisan funding package that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and restrictions on the US-Mexico border.
"And now House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is taking the lead in trying to finalize the proposal and reach consensus... in late March or April," the post said.
Johnson has not yet taken a position on the new plan and has not committed to bringing it to a vote. He told his colleagues that they must first finish work on the legislation on public funding.
But as soon as this process is completed, approximately by the middle of March, it is assumed that the draft law can come to a vote in the shortest possible time — even despite the risk of a negative reaction from the radical wing of the party.
- The President of the United States, Joe Biden, on March 1 signed the law on the continuation of financial allocations for the government. Before that, Biden met with the leaders of Congress at the White House, where he warned them about the "terrible price" of delaying the provision of military aid to Ukraine. After several months of discussions, the US has still not made a final decision on providing Ukraine with $60 billion in aid.
- On February 13, the US Senate, at a night meeting, supported a draft law that provides aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in the amount of $95 billion. Now the bill must be approved by the House of Representatives of the US Congress, where the Republicans have a majority. A significant part of them is focused on former President Donald Trump, who was critical of this bill.