Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) delivered President Joe Biden a $61 billion gift on Saturday afternoon, reversing his months-long pledge to never advance foreign aid without first securing America’s border.
Multiple Democrats — and possibly a few Republicans — cheered; shouted, “Ukraine;” and waived Ukrainian flags as the Ukraine aid vote closed.
“It is in violation of decorum to waive flags on the floor,” Johnson scored Democrats.
The Ukraine portion of the foreign aid passed 311 to 112. One representative, Republican Dan Mauser (R-PA), voted present.
Johnson, once again, violated the Hastert Rule. Only 101 Republicans voted with Johnson, while 112 — a clear majority — opposed.
Republican House members circulated a document outlining a timeline of Johnson’s repeated insistence that the House would not advance a foreign aid package before securing America’s southern border.
Johnson had begun publicly wavering in early March after a February 28 meeting at the White House.
His reversal follows months of grooming by both the White House and establishment Republicans.
“We’ve been working with him for months to try to get him there,” one anonymous lawmaker told Politico, which said Johnson’s Ukraine bill would “grant Biden a major foreign policy victory that has eluded him for a year.”
The White House and intelligence state reeducation of Mike Johnson began before his seat warmed. According to Politico, “the administration held several closed-door briefings for Johnson and other lawmakers to update them on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, starting just days after Johnson became speaker.”
Officials involved in those briefings included CIA Director William Burns and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The Ukraine bill will be bundled into a larger foreign aid package that does not include border security.
Johnson held a vote on a border security bill earlier in the day, but Johnson moved that bill under suspension of the rules, which meant it required two-thirds support to pass.
It received 215 votes to 199 in opposition and, therefore, failed.
The Senate is expected to act on the bill soon after receiving it.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
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