A top House Republican is getting ready to betray voters and House conservatives by basically attempting an end run around Speaker Mike Johnson to get Ukraine aid passed with the help of Democrats.
Via Fox News:
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said that he was deploying the strategy as a “fail-safe” in the event a Republican consensus is elusive.
“This is a fail-safe in the case that the conference can’t come to a consensus for language on the floor,” Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital Thursday evening.
Traditionally, House leadership controls which bills get put up for a vote. The maneuver, a discharge petition, would force a vote with the support of a simple House majority.
The strategy would allow Johnson to avoid potentially having to roll his caucus by moving the bill to the floor with Republicans in disagreement with each other. Instead, the discharge petition would force Johnson’s hand and allow a vote in which Democrats might join Republicans to approve the assistance.
“We recognize the tough political situation our speaker is in. We’re just trying to figure out an additional option, an escape patch,” Fitzpatrick said. “We are 100% working with him and his team to try to get this bill to the floor.”
Fitzpatrick told reporters earlier Thursday that lives were at stake.
“It’s existential, it’s time-sensitive. Whether it’s our [bill] or somebody else’s, we’ve just got to get the money out the door,” Fitzpatrick said.
Before a discharge petition can be activated, however, the measure must sit in the House Rules Committee – where legislation traditionally is voted on before it gets to the floor – untouched for seven days.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who just got back from Kyiv, says Ukraine has “weeks, not months” to resupply munitions. Speaker Johnson hasn’t assured him he’ll bring his aid bill to the floor, but he makes clear he’ll force it if necessary. “We will find a way to get this to the floor” pic.twitter.com/qyyWw1UH3s
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 23, 2024
In order for Fitzpatrick’s discharge position to make it to the House floor he would need 217 lawmakers to sign on to his position.
So he would need the help of House Democrats to make this happen.
We are not opposed to providing aid to our allies Israel and Taiwan.
We are also not opposed to more aid to Ukraine but want more accountability as to how the money is being spent and what the exit strategy is.
That said, we have to take care of our own country first and until the border is shut down completely, no new aid should flow to any other country.
Take care of our own borders before we worry about the borders of other countries.
Take care of our long term allies first, before we worry about Ukraine.
