By LISA MASCARO and STEPHEN GROVES
WASHINGTON — Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday the U.S. House will not feel “rushed” to pass the $95.3 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies, signaling a further stall over sending military hardware and munitions Kyiv badly needs to fight Russia.
Johnson made the remarks behind closed doors at a morning meeting of House Republicans, who are largely aligned with Donald Trump, the party’s presidential front-runner, in opposing the Senate-passed foreign assistance for Ukraine’s fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The speaker let colleagues know that the House will instead “work its will,” in considering the package, said a person familiar with the private remarks and granted anonymity to discuss them.
“The Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid bill,” Johnson said at a press conference afterward.
Johnson, who rejected a border security compromise that was eventually stripped from the final product, said the Senate’s package “does nothing” to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, which has been the GOP’s priority.
He said he had requested a meeting with President Joe Biden months ago on these issues, and was still waiting for the opportunity to talk one-on-one.
The White House suggested that Johnson was in no position for productive talks after Republicans demanded that border security be attached to the national security aid and then he rejected the bipartisan package approved by the Senate.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Johnson basically needs to negotiate with himself on what to do, rather than the White House.
“What is there to negotiate?” she said at Wednesday’s news briefing. “What is the one-on-one negotiation about when he’s been presented with exactly what he asked for? So he’s negotiating with himself.”
The slow-walk of U.S. aid to an ally during the…
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