A Republican lawmaker is preparing to trigger a process that would force a vote in the lower chamber on replenishing aid to war-torn Ukraine.
Specifically, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is eyeing a rarely used parliamentary procedure known as a discharge petition, which he framed as a means of assisting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
“Just to be clear, this isn’t an end run around the speaker at all, quite to the contrary. We’re going to be working with [the speaker’s office] to try to get a bill to the floor that they want to bring to the floor,” Fitzpatrick stressed to The Post.
Johnson has expressed support for Ukraine but declined to take up a vote on aid to the beleaguered eastern European nation amid fierce pressure from his right flank to prioritize border security legislation.
The speaker has demanded that any new supplemental funds for Ukraine be paired with a crackdown on illegal immigration but opposed a bipartisan Senate deal meant to accomplish that — calling its provisions woefully inadequate.
“Hopefully House leadership will find a bill they can put on the floor that can navigate the Senate,” Fitzpatrick said. “If they can’t get there, or if it’s too politically perilous for the speaker to do it, this is an option.”
Fitzpatrick underscored that he has been in communication with Johnson and that this is intended to “complement his efforts,” not “undercut them.”
House Democrats have toyed with the idea of a discharge petition but would need GOP support to obtain the necessary 218 signatures for it to take effect.
Fitzpatrick said he anticipated the legislative vehicle for a petition could be put out by next Friday to allow time to accrue the remaining endorsements. --->READ MORE HERE
number of Republicans are prepared to add a "pressure point" to Speaker Mike Johnson in a bid to secure funding for Ukraine, a GOP congressman has said, following suggestions of a discharge petition to force a vote in the House.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said he spoke to "several" other Republicans in the House who are prepared to find another way of bringing forward, in some form, a $95 billion foreign aid bill agreed on by the Senate.
Johnson has previously said the $95 billion deal, which contains around $60 billion in funding for Ukraine, would be "dead on arrival" in the House and has so 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.
Tapper asked the Pennsylvania Republican if there were other Republicans willing to support efforts to bring a Ukraine deal to the House floor. Fitzpatrick said he was unwilling to name any of the supportive Republicans he spoke to, but that there were "several."
Ukraine-supporting Republicans have floated the idea of a discharge petition to force a vote in the House. It requires a majority, in this case 218 signatures, to force a motion on a vote to discharge.
If that passes, the House can then vote on the Senate deal. Whether enough Republicans will sign up to the discharge petition is unclear, despite the likelihood of the overall deal passing in the House.
Newsweek has approached Johnson's office for comment via an email outside of normal working hours. --->READ MORE HERE
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