House Republican defense hawks are pushing for a way to get foreign aid passed through Congress after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made clear he would not entertain the Senate’s attempts at doing so.
While House GOP leaders have been critical of the Senate passing a multibillion-dollar foreign aid package, there is a large contingent of both Republicans and Democrats who are hoping to see some form of aid for U.S. allies overseas – so much so that top House Democrats are publicly pressuring them to join a bid to end-run Johnson and bring the Senate package to the floor anyway.
Nearly all the House Republicans who Fox News Digital heard from said they have not been contacted by the other side but are interested in seeing the aid pass, while others are working on a new plan altogether.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, told reporters on Wednesday that a small group of GOP lawmakers was working on a plan that involved aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific as well as elements of border security.
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House GOP defense hawks Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Jen Kiggans and Don Bacon are all expressing concerns about the future of foreign aid in the House. (Getty Images)
“It’s not bipartisan yet. We’re working on it,” Fitzpatrick said. “I care about Ukraine. I used to live there. It was my last assignment as an FBI agent, and we’re not going to let them be abandoned.”
Fitzpatrick said that plan would be “very similar but separate” to the Senate’s and said legislative text could be available “within a few days.”
The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package aimed at Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Gaza early on Tuesday morning after a marathon all-night session in which conservatives, mainly opposed to sending aid to Ukraine, tried to slow it down.
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It came together quickly after an earlier version, a $118 billion aid package that also included border and immigration reforms, fell apart despite months of sensitive bipartisan negotiations.
In both cases, Johnson rejected the bills and said he would not hold a vote on them in their current form.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has dismissed both of the Senate’s efforts at passing foreign aid. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The House Democrat minority, meanwhile, is publicly threatening to go around Johnson’s back with a discharge petition – a move that would allow them to force a vote on the Senate’s aid package if a majority of the House signed off.
But even moderate House Republicans poured cold water on the idea.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said “one or two” Democrats approached him about signing a discharge petition but that he was not interested at the moment.
Other defense-minded Republicans said they hadn’t heard from Democrats at all.
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Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said he was “not going to go against leadership like that” but called for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan aid to be passed as separate bills.
Navy veteran Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., would not tell Fox News Digital if she’d sign a discharge petition or if one was offered, but she also suggested she’s had few answers from her own leadership on a foreign aid plan.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ushered a $95 billion aid bill through his chamber early on Tuesday morning. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
“I read and see whatever I’m going to make a judgment call on, but no one has talked to me,” Kiggans said. “I’ve asked actually a couple times, when are we voting on a foreign aid package? Because there are parts of it that, you know, we’ve got to support our military overseas … we’ve got to make sure that we’re there for our allies and that we’re there for our military because this world is a scary place.”
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Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said it was “premature” to discuss a discharge petition but similarly conceded that action needed to be taken.
“I think we need to step up and help our allies around the world, and we should be able to come up with a way to do that without resorting to a discharge petition,” he told Fox News Digital.