A GOP congressman has indicated that several Republicans are ready to apply “pressure” to Speaker Mike Johnson to secure Ukraine funding. This comes after discussions of a discharge petition to compel a vote in the House.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick stated that he has spoken to “several” other Republicans in the House. They are prepared to explore alternative methods to introduce, in some capacity, a $95 billion foreign aid bill that was agreed upon by the Senate.
Johnson has previously stated that the $95 billion deal, including approximately $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, would be “dead on arrival” in the House. He has thus far refused to bring it to a vote.
“I wouldn’t necessarily phrase this as going around anybody; this is just to add a pressure point,” Fitzpatrick said on The Lead with Jake Tapper on February 27.
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When Tapper asked the Pennsylvania Republican if other Republicans were willing to support efforts to bring a Ukraine deal to the House floor, Fitzpatrick mentioned that he was unwilling to name any of the supportive Republicans he spoke to but confirmed there were “several.”
Ukraine-supporting Republicans have discussed the possibility of using a discharge petition to compel a vote in the House. This method necessitates gathering a majority, specifically 218 signatures, to initiate a motion for a vote to discharge.
If the discharge petition is successful, the House can proceed to vote on the Senate deal. However, it remains uncertain whether enough Republicans will endorse the discharge petition despite the likelihood of the overall deal passing in the House.
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Newsweek has reached out to Johnson’s office for comment via email outside of regular working hours. Johnson previously stated before the Senate bill passed that “America deserves better than the Senate’s status quo” and opposed any attempts to bring the deal to the floor.
“In the absence of receiving any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” he remarked.
Signing a discharge petition would represent a clear and significant departure from party leadership and could potentially undermine Johnson. Former President Donald Trump has expressed his opposition to the Senate bill.
While Democrats already have a discharge petition, it lacks significant Republican support. Fitzpatrick’s mentioned discharge petition is Republican-led and would require backing from Democrats.
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During an appearance on CNN alongside Democrat Rep. Jared Golden, Fitzpatrick disclosed that Golden was proposing a scaled-down version of the bill. This version includes border security funding and $49 billion in aid for Ukraine but lacks funding for Israel and Gaza.
Some Democrats may view the trimmed-down bill as jeopardizing the full Senate-agreed deal’s chances to pass. Additionally, there could be objections regarding the absence of funding for Israel and Gaza. Golden mentioned that amendments could potentially be added to the slimmed-down bill.
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