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WASHINGTON — Texas Republicans are on opposing sides in the bitter fight over whether or not Congress sends aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
On one side are U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, Republican Austin, and members of the House Freedom Caucus who have been blocking aid to Ukraine for months, demanding that Congress pass a bill securing the southern border before examining the foreign aid program.
Roy at press conference Thursday railed that Republicans were giving up their influence to pass meaningful border security legislation because Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, was pushing forward the $60.8 billion Ukraine aid bill.
“We have let every funding bill pass without securing the United States border with the promise of using Ukraine as leverage with the administration to ensure a secure border,” Roy said. “And here we are completely running away from that promise. Well, not on our watch. We will do everything we can to stop this senseless capitulation by Republican leaders.”
Leading Texans on the other side of the fight is Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, who authored legislation that was part of Johnson’s foreign aid package.
“There is nothing our adversaries would love more than if Congress failed to pass critical national security assistance. President Johnson has produced a plan that will strengthen America’s national security interests in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific,” McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a joint statement with his Republican colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee. .
Rep. Kay Granger, a Fort Worth Republican, also supported Ukraine. Rep. Michael Burgess, Republican of Lewisville, signaled support for the legislation when he described aid to Ukraine as “essential funding while preserving American generosity” during a House committee meeting on the rules Thursday.
Aid to Ukraine has been withheld for months by hardline Republicans who have threatened to oust Johnson as president if he so much as introduces the bill. Johnson attempted to placate those members by splitting the foreign aid legislation into three separate votes providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and its allies in the Indo-Pacific. The House is expected to vote on the bill Saturday evening.
Before the Ukraine aid legislation can pass, House members will need to pass a rule — a difficult decision for Johnson, who can only afford to lose one vote on the rule aimed at moving forward the financing of Ukraine, given the very slim majority of the Republican Party. . He can only lose two if Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, who planned to resign his post Friday, stays through the weekend to vote on the aid package.
Johnson, who previously voted against aid to Ukraine, said Wednesday that he was not worried about losing his job because of the bill’s passage.
“I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine now is critically important,” Johnson said at a news conference Wednesday. “I really do. I really believe the information and the briefings that we have received. I believe that Xi, Vladimir Putin and Iran really are the axis of evil. I think they are in coordination on this.
Roy declined to say whether he would support a motion to vacate Johnson as president.
“I objected to it last September, I don’t want to go into that zip code, if you will,” he said in an interview with CNN. “I would rather we do our jobs, try to move these things forward, work together. But I will say that I am very disappointed in the President. This is a bridge too far from where we are currently headed.
Meanwhile, the Freedom Caucus, which includes Reps. Troy Nehls, Republican of Richmond, and Michael Cloud, Republican of Victoria, is urging Republicans to reject the rule that would allow foreign aid legislation to get a floor vote .
“The House Freedom Caucus will vote NO on the ‘America Last’ foreign wars supplemental package rule with zero border security, and will urge all House Republicans to do the same. To secure the border, we must end the rule,” the caucus said in a memo Thursday.
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