The new Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, supports additional aid to Ukraine, but under certain conditions.
The US House of Representatives has elected a new speaker. He became Republican Congressman Mike Johnson, a key representative of Donald Trump’s group and a politician known for his critical attitude to the need for aid in Ukraine. However, Johnson’s first statements in his new post were not so catastrophic for Ukraine.
Johnson’s background
Johnson is an active supporter of former US President Donald Trump. In particular, Johnson led Trump’s legal defense during the impeachment trial in the House of Representatives and asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
In May 2022, Johnson voted against a roughly $40 billion aid package for Ukraine.
Recent statements
After becoming speaker, Johnson explained his position in response to a direct question about whether he supported increasing aid to Ukraine.
“We support everyone. We will have conditions on this, so we are working on it. We want accountability, and we want clear goals from the White House. But we will have these discussions. It’s going to be very productive,” Johnson said.
Bloomberg reported that the speaker was open to discussing aid to Ukraine.
At the same time, Johnson already said that the US House of Representatives will consider new military aid for Ukraine and Israel separately. The decision could complicate Biden’s attempts to gain support from both countries. The White House has asked the US Congress for $106 billion in emergency spending for Ukraine, Israel and other foreign aid, hoping it will help get the full amount requested, but growing skepticism among House Republicans over Ukraine one of the most contentious issues in the party’s three-week battle for who will lead the House.
After Johnson was elected Speaker of the House, he said that the US would not abandon Ukraine and that Russia’s victory would strengthen not only it but also China against Taiwan.
Ukraine’s reaction
Diplomatic Advisor to the President of Ukraine Igor Zhovkva believes that the election of Mike Johnson as the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives will not be a blow to American military aid to Ukraine. The election of the House Speaker is a positive development as it ends a three-week political vacuum, the official said.
Zhovkva added that neither he nor President Volodymyr Zelensky saw any signs of opposition to funding for Ukraine from one of the American parties during a visit to Washington in September.
“I reviewed the words of the newly elected Speaker, Mr. Johnson, before his election or even after his election, and I did not hear that he himself or members of his party decided to reduce military support to Ukraine ,” he says.
At least for now, Mike Johnson’s public statements about support for Ukraine are not much different from his predecessor McCarthy, who also asked for control of funds as well as a “plan for victory” – that is, what exactly the White House wants to achieve with billions of dollars in military aid.
The turmoil of the last three weeks in Congress, as well as the tension between Israel and the Hamas group, does not mean that Ukraine has lost the support of American lawmakers. But we have to fight for it more actively.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.