New US House of Representatives speaker wants aid packages for Ukraine and Israel to be separate

The US House of Representatives shall consider new military aid to Ukraine and Israel as separate measures.

Source: Bloomberg citing Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives, on Thursday 26 October, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "Our consensus among House Republicans is that we need to bifurcate those issues," Johnson said in an interview with Fox News.

Details: Johnson said he had conveyed this message to White House officials following his earlier meeting with Biden in the day.

The US presidential administration has requested $106 billion in emergency funding from Congress for Ukraine, Israel and other foreign aid, hoping that a package deal would help approve the full amount.

However, growing scepticism among House Republicans regarding Ukraine was one of the more divisive matters during the party's three-week battle over who would lead the chamber, which ended with Johnson's election on Wednesday.

Johnson said that the US would not abandon Ukraine, emphasising that a Russian victory in Ukraine would embolden not only Russia, but also China in its stance on Taiwan.

"We can't allow Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine because I don't believe it would stop there," Johnson said.

However, Johnson added that aid to Ukraine would require greater accountability for the money already spent.

"Israel is a separate matter. But here’s the thing that distinguishes House Republicans from the other team. We’re going to find pay-fors in the budget. We’re not just printing money to send it overseas. We’re going to fund the cuts elsewhere to do that," the speaker noted.

Johnson stated that House Republicans would offer a $14.5 billion aid package for Israel, which is slightly higher than the amount requested by the Biden administration.

Background:

• The budget request submitted by the White House to the US Congress on Friday includes about US$61.4 billion for Ukraine, of which US$46.1 billion is for defence spending and US$11.8 billion is for direct budget support.
• After his election, Mike Johnson said he supports providing aid to Ukraine, but "under certain conditions".

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