Marjorie Taylor Greene Draws Red Line for Mike Johnson
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene drew a red line for Johnson over Ukraine funding on Friday.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene drew a red line for House Speaker Mike Johnson over funding for Ukraine.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is negotiating with other Congressional leaders to reach a deal to provide funding for Ukraine and Israel, as well as for the U.S-Mexico border. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, late last year requested Congress to authorize roughly $106 billion in additional aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the U.S.-Mexico border, but the package has faced resistance from conservatives who argue Ukraine aid should be separate from funding for the U.S.-Mexico border.
Greene, a Georgia Republican, is among the conservatives opposing any more aid for Ukraine. She has argued those funds should instead be spent domestically, including on measures to strengthen border security amid an influx of migrants arriving at the southern border.
There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Republicans say the uptick in migrants is a direct result of Biden’s border policies, which they argue incentivize illegal immigration. Other experts, however, say other factors including political and financial instability in some Central American countries drive migration to the U.S.
On Friday, Greene told reporters that Johnson would face a revolt from her and other House conservatives if he agrees to Biden’s request to tie funding for the border with Ukraine aid, reported The Messenger.
“We don’t have to trade $60 billion for Ukraine for our own country’s border security. That is a failing, losing strategy and I will never support it. I’ll fight it as much as possible. Even if I have to go so far to vacate the chair and there’s others that agree with me,” Greene said.
The comments mark a shift for Greene, who has previously been critical of the tactic. She previously said that vacating Johnson from the speakership would be “the dumbest thing that could happen” and supported former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy amid the conservative revolt that ended in his ouster.
Newsweek reached out to Johnson’s office for comment via email.
Johnson said on Wednesday during an interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show that he does not want to see Ukraine aid tied to aid for Israel or funding for the border.
“You know, the President came forward with his national security supplemental proposal, and we said those are not issues to be tied together. Israel and Ukraine are separate and distinct. We have to support Israel. It’s a top priority. Ukraine’s important as well. But we cannot be involved in securing the border of Ukraine or other nations until we secure our own,” he said.
Greene’s comments come as Johnson also faces pressure from conservative lawmakers over his plan to fund the government. Congress faces a January 19 deadline to pass a series of appropriations bills and prevent some federal agencies from shutting down. But conservative hardliners have signaled they will not support the $1.66 trillion funding package.
Johnson, however, touted the deal as the “most favorable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade, noting that it contains $16 billion in cuts.
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