Mr Johnson is seeking a compromise. Splitting the bill into separate votes would allow anti-Ukrainian Republicans to vote against that funding, and progressive Democrats to vote against funding for Israel, but still It is possible that both bills will pass. But the compromise did not satisfy far-right members of Mr Johnson’s caucus, who came close to forcing a vote on Tuesday to remove him as speaker. He will likely need Democratic support to pass the bill and save his job.
Before Iran attacked Israel, Johnson was leaning toward pushing the entire aid package with a single vote, which would have been much easier, according to congressional Republicans. But starting Saturday afternoon, Johnson and his staff began receiving calls and emails from far-right, anti-Ukrainian lawmakers urging them to pass only aid to Israel and delay aid to Ukraine again.
“It had nothing to do with defending Israel. They just had a new excuse to oppose aid to Ukraine and were happy to jump on it,” a senior Republican congressional aide told me.
On Sunday, these MAGA lawmakers went public with their push to shelve aid to Ukraine. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) opposes any aid to Ukraine. Posted in X“It is anti-Semitic to condition Israeli aid on funding the Nazis in Ukraine.” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) Posted in X“Send billions of dollars to Ukraine for this Iranian attack and the terrorists will win.”
There is much wrong with these statements. Passing a package of bills would not be “attaching conditions” to support for Israel, and even if conditions were attached, it would not be “anti-Semitism.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a Jew and not a Nazi. And Gates doesn’t seem to realize that Iranians are also supporting Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
“The MAGA faction in Congress fundamentally misunderstands or does not want to understand the national security implications of how these conflicts are connected,” said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. ) told me. “They need to wake up and look at the big picture.”
This is not the first time far-right Republicans have tried to use Israel as an excuse to delay aid to Ukraine. In November, Prime Minister Johnson himself pushed through a single-funding bill for Israel that ignored Ukraine, but the Senate did not take it up. He tried again in February to direct aid only to Israel, but failed. Interestingly, Greene voted against aid to Israel both times. That didn’t stop her this week from calling out Israeli security officials and alleging delays in helping Ukraine.
Mr. Greene and Mr. Gaetz are now aligned with former President Donald Trump, who expressed support for more Ukraine aid (although he hopes to issue it as a loan) during Johnson’s visit to Mar-a-Lago last week. Not yet. Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) said he wants Congress to pass aid to Ukraine because President Trump sees it as a personal benefit. If President Trump is to return to office and pursue a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, he will need Ukraine to be in a strong military position.
“President Trump understands that if Ukraine enters into a deal from a position of weakness, it will only invite new aggression and tempt China,” Graham said.
Prime Minister Johnson’s current efforts show that he is not only continuing to try to appease his far-right base, but also that he is serious about getting funding to Israel and Ukraine done. It is natural for Democrats to support this effort, and if it goes that far, the Senate should pass Johnson’s aid package quickly. His plan also includes additional items the White House must accept, including legislation that would force TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance and authorize the administration to seize frozen Russian assets. If that fails, the MAGA movement to completely cut off aid to Israel and crush aid to Ukraine will resurface and gain further momentum.
Even if it succeeds, larger lessons must be learned about not pitting America’s allies against each other. By citing Israel as the reason for abandoning Ukraine, Republicans such as Greene and Gaetz are further politicizing the Israeli issue, further exacerbating the suffering of Ukrainians, and encouraging leaders of both parties in the US to ensure Israel’s security. It prevents us from finding the necessary political compromises. The same goes for Ukraine and the United States.
