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Shop NowOnce again, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has let down the Republican Party and conservatives everywhere. As House Republicans continue to struggle to find a way to move forward on government funding, McCarthy just went behind their backs and reversed his decision to exclude Ukraine aid from the military spending bill.
This unexpected move raises new questions about how it will impact the debate on four government funding bills set for a vote this upcoming week – and what it means for the future of Republican strategy as they grapple with a narrow majority and several lawmaker absences.
JUST IN: Speaker Kevin McCarthy has backtracked on removing Ukraine funding from the Pentagon spending package.
VACATE THE CHAIR!!!https://t.co/42GEKYaais
— Proud Elephant ???????????? (@ProudElephantUS) September 24, 2023
McCarthy initially proposed removing around $300 million earmarked for Ukraine from the Pentagon bill and arranging a separate vote. While he faced resistance from within his own party, he changed course when he announced that leaving in the Ukraine funds would be too complicated due to their funding strategy involving presenting multiple bills together.
This presents fresh uncertainty surrounding whether or not the Senate will even consider debating any of these four bills after two previous failures, but Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is urging members to inform leadership if they plan on voting against moving them forward. Rep Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), meanwhile, admitted that “we’ll see if we get there” in regards to the upcoming vote.
Republicans had hoped that eliminating Ukraine funds would change Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) vote concerning initiating debate on Defense bills earlier in the week however, since those are connected with State department funding which also includes Ukrainian aid, she was likely going to vote against bringing them forward regardless. As McCarthy explained to reporters “it became too difficult…so we’re leaving it in”.
Furthermore, since this financial deal was negotiated by Rep Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) alongside other hardliners who have pledged never to support short term spending patches necessary for avoiding shutdowns, Republicans are banking on passing larger funding bills as a way around this issue.
