GOP Intel Chair Mike Turner told Meet the Press host Kristen Welker he expects the aid package to pass this week with "overwhelming support," but not before trying to absolve Trump for holding up the aid in the first place. Turner tried to blame the House, but we all know who they're taking their marching orders from... Trump, and for a lot of them, Putin.
KRISTEN WELKER: As you know, this aid package that will provide aid to Israel, but also Ukraine, has been held up, has been blocked by former President Trump. Do you want to see the House speaker bring this to the floor for a vote this week? And has he given you any assurances that he will do so?
REP. MIKE TURNER: Well, it's not been held up by Donald Trump, first off, let's be clear. It's being held up in the House by debates and deliberations in the House of Representatives. I think that the speaker has been very clear. He supports Ukraine funding. He supports funding for Israel. He supports the Asia package that’s part of the national security supplemental. And he has made it clear that he sees that the path is for that to come to the House floor, this week. I think it will have overwhelming support, both the Ukraine, Israel and Asia packages, not just because of what's happened with Iran escalating the conflict in the Middle East, but because these are allies that need and deserve our support.
KRISTEN WELKER: As you know, Donald Trump has been on the sidelines, saying he doesn't want to see that aid go to Ukraine, unless it's in the form of a loan. But just very quickly, do you expect it to get a vote this week, congressman?
REP. MIKE TURNER: I do. And I expect it to pass. And, by the way, Donald Trump had said, on the humanitarian – the other – the support to the Ukrainian government, on the weapons, the military support, everyone has been very much on the side of understanding that we're at a critical point. Russia is beginning to gain ground. Ukraine is beginning to lose the ability to defend itself. And the United States must step up and provide Ukraine the weapons that they need. And I think we're going to see overwhelming support for that in the House this week.
Unless Trump demands they block it again. Here's more on that from Politico following MAGA Mike's visit down at Mar-a-Lago this week.
House to act on Israel aid, but Ukraine up in the air, after Iran’s attack:
Speaker Mike Johnson is vowing to take up aid to Israel following Iran’s Saturday drone attacks and renewed bipartisan pressure.
And that is fueling questions whether the GOP leader will also act on Ukraine aid, which comes as Ukrainian leaders warn they are running out of resources to combat Russia’s military aggression and as he faces ouster threats by some of his own membership.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” Johnson said he plans to move forward with Israel aid bills this week, though he did not provide further details, noting they are “looking at the options on all these supplemental issues.”
When asked about Ukraine, Johnson did not say when it would be taken up or whether it would be tied to Israel funding. But he cited his recent visit with Donald Trump down at his Florida-based Mar-A-Lago resort, pointing to several ideas he previously floated including sending additional money to Ukraine as a loan.
Trump has “introduced the loan-lease concept which is a really important one, which I think has a lot of consensus, as well as these other ideas, the Repo Act, which is seizing the assets of corrupt Russian oligarchs to help pay for this resistance,” said the Louisiana Republican, noting they will pull together their own plan and send it over to the Senate. “I think these are ideas that I think can get consensus, and that’s what we’ve been working through.”
Johnson has been under pressure from both sides of the aisle to hold a vote on stalled military assistance for Kyiv for months. The Senate cleared a $95 billion foreign aid bill to help arm Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in February, while House GOP leaders have only held votes on military assistance for Israel.
We'll find out this week whether the Putin wing of the GOP is going to continue to hold up the aid, or whether Turner is correct on it passing.
