Speaker of the House Mike Johson and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky met on Tuesday morning during Zelensky’s capitol visit in a last-ditch effort to get American support in their ongoing war against Russia.
Speaker Johnson didn’t budge from Republican demands to move on border security before advancing additional Ukraine aid after meeting with Zelensky.
“These are our conditions because these are the conditions of the American people,” Johnson said of border security. “And we are resolute on that. It is not the House’s issue right now. The issue is with the White House and the Senate, and I implore them to do their job because the time is urgent and we do want to do the right thing.”
The head of the House Democratic Caucus took a swipe at Johnson on Tuesday over the Republicans’ decision not to stage a meeting between the full House and Ukrainian president during his visit.
“We just thank him for coming out, and [having] the courage to come here. Unfortunately, House Republicans didn’t extend that offer to meet like the Senate did — to meet with all members,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.) told reporters during a press briefing in the Capitol.
Aguilar was part of a much smaller meeting Tuesday morning between Zelensky and House Democratic lawmakers, characterizing the meeting as a “productive” update on the state of play in Ukraine.
“But the important takeaway is: We have to do everything we can to help Ukraine fight for democracy, fight for their sovereignty,” Aguilar said.
These comments arrive as Congress struggles to reach an agreement on new funding to help Ukraine with invading Russian forces. That emergency aid is part of a much larger package, including funding for Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian aid in Gaza, that’s been held up over disagreements between the parties over U.S. border security.
In the race against the clock against the holiday break at the end of the week, it appears increasingly unlikely that Congress will meet the deadline to reach such an agreement.
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