A radical step is being prepared: how the US Congress is putting pressure on Speaker Johnson

The US House of Representatives is not close to solving the problem of aid for Ukraine. Speaker of Congress Mike Johnson does not allow the bill to be put to a vote.

If this continues, Congress may soon take radical action. Yuri Rashkin, a public and political figure from the USA, told Channel more about how congressmen are trying to help Ukraine.

Johnson is stalling for time

The US approved funding for the interim government, preventing a shutdown. At the same time, it cannot be said that the issue of assistance for Ukraine is somehow moving forward. For this, the decision of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Michael Johnson is key.

For now, Speaker Johnson is willing to push the U.S. funding forward for a few more days or weeks to give lawmakers a chance to bargain. This creates a sense of crisis, which is both familiar to us (Americans – Channel 24), but also necessary for action. In addition, this distracts politicians from their election campaigns,” noted Yuri Rashkin.

Now American politicians have other priorities: on the eve of the elections they must raise money and meet with voters . Instead, they cannot solve problems in Congress that are not even related to the financing of Ukraine, but of their state.

“This is Johnson's policy. He, like Donald Trump, is simply trying to delay the decision, realizing that time plays into their hands and harms their rivals. Perhaps this week they will collect votes for the so-called dismissal petition, but then they will still have to wait until the project is put to a vote, regardless of what Speaker Johnson wants.” , – Rashkin noted.

What is a Discharge Petition

In the U.S. House of Representatives, the Speaker typically works with leaders to set the agenda and decides which bills or resolutions will be brought up for a vote. Most legislation originates from committees, which then vote to send the bills to final approval. But legislators can “kill” legislation pending in committee if 218 members, a majority of the Lower House, sign a petition to essentially bypass the speaker's decision to bring the bill to a vote in the full House. So recently, pro-Ukrainian Republican in the US House of Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick is preparing a so-called “discharge petition” in order to achieve approval of aid to Ukraine.

Moreover, the chairman of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, Khakis Jeffries, said that Democrats would be willing to support Speaker Johnson if his candidacy is put up for review. This, of course, is the case if he puts aid to Ukraine to a vote.

Even Democrats are already ready to help him, although he is not a Democrat than he did not ask for and cannot ask for, because these are negotiations with the “enemy”. But to be honest, he won't be able to last long if he's such a speaker. Johnson finds himself in a situation where he expresses the interests of not only Trump, but also his voters. “I don’t know how we can get around this situation,” Rashkin noted.

The Pentagon is even considering the possibility of using the reserve $4 billion to help Ukraine. It says presidential funding that Joe Biden can allocate without the approval of Congress. This would allow the US Department of Defense to send military equipment from its own reserves to Kiev.

The only solution to the problem

In the United States, by the way, there is an interesting poll about support for Ukraine. If in November there were 59% of Republicans who supported the position that the United States helps Ukraine a lot, now there are 55%. But the number of Democrats who believed that the United States does not help Ukraine much increased from 17% to 40%.

In addition, calls to help Ukraine are heard from all over the United States. In fact, this is an appeal to Michael Johnson himself, who does not put the bill to a vote.

Support for Ukraine among Democrats has grown greatly. But this indicates that the Ukraine issue has become even more politicized. In the United States, there is pressure on the speaker from all sides, but he finds himself in a situation where he cannot make a different decision than the one he is making now. Now the question arises of how this can be counteracted,” Rashkin emphasized.

At the same time, this is a rather difficult situation. Johnson refused to put forward a bill to help Ukraine, demanding first a solution to the problem on the US border with Mexico. When the politicians agreed to this, it was not enough for Johnson himself.

Therefore, the most likely solution seems to be the preparation of the so-called “discharge petition”.

Problems with help from the USA: latest news

< li>US Republican Party member Boris Pincus noted that the United States should provide Ukraine with more powerful weapons. Moreover, in his opinion, the $61 billion that has not yet been allocated is not enough for Kiev to be able to resist Russia.
• Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reported that today Speaker Mike Johnson has a historic chance to emerge from the shadow of Donald Trump. However, this is also hampered by the Republicans, who are blackmailing Johnson with resignation.
• US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with congressional leaders on February 27, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives . One of the most important topics of discussion was the importance of providing financial assistance to Ukraine. Afterwards, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described the meeting as “one of the most tense” he had ever experienced.