White House changes position on Johnson's idea for aid to Ukraine and Israel
Photo: John Kirby, White House spokesman (Getty Images)
The White House has abruptly changed its position on the idea of US House Speaker Mike Johnson regarding a package of four separate bills to help Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and others, according to The Hill.
John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications, stated that “at first blush” Speaker Johnson's initiative addresses the White House's requests. However, Kirby noted that the US administration wants to see Johnson's bills first before making a final decision.
“It does appear at first blush that the Speaker’s proposal will in fact help us get aid to Ukraine, aid to Israel, and needed resources to the Indo-Pacific for a wide range of contingencies there. At first blush it looks like that, we just want to get more details,” said a White House spokesman.
Kirby also emphasized the importance of providing necessary security assistance to Ukraine and Israel, who are "under the gun", as soon as possible. The White House expects this to happen as early as this week.
According to The Hill, US President Joe Biden spoke with Speaker Johnson last night about this proposal for separate bills.
US assistance to Ukraine
The US Congress has been unable to allocate new funds for aid to Ukraine, Israel, and the Pacific region for almost six months. The House of Representatives awaits consideration of a bill already approved by the Senate. However, Speaker Johnson refuses to bring it to a vote.
Following Iran's attack on Israel, Congress has called for swift approval of aid to Israel, but the White House insisted that the issues of Ukraine and Israel should be considered together.
Today, on April 16, Johnson presented his own initiative, which includes a package of four bills - on aid to Ukraine, aid to Israel, aid to the Pacific region, and US national security issues.
However, before that, the White House said that Biden would not support the separation of aid to Ukraine and Israel. On April 15, Kirby stated that the White House would be against a separate bill that was solely aimed at Israel.
