Biden Urges House Speaker Mike Johnson To Pass Foreign Aid Bill

US President Joe Biden has again urged Congress to send him a national security supplemental bill to provide fresh funds for Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza. Speaking at the Friends of Ireland Luncheon at the White House, where he was introduced by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) - the sole leader of Congress opposed to the bill - Biden said the Senate-passed bill, "sends a clear message that America stands up for freedom and bows down to no-one."

• Biden: "I think we stand at an inflection point. Not only in American history but in world history where the decisions we make now are gonna determine what the next 3, 4, 5, 6 decades will look like. I believe history's watching..."
• Biden declined to reference either Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) speech yesterday, nor a decision today by the Israeli War Cabinet to authorise a ground operation in Rafah but noted that humanitarian assistance to Gaza in the foreign aid bill was "maybe equally important" as aid to Ukraine and Israel.
• Johnson gave mixed messages on the foreign aid package at a House Republican retreat yesterday but it is unlikely any movement will come until later this month after the conclusion of the FY24 appropriations process.
• In an interview with Politico he said that he “suspects” he will move a stand-alone bill or bills under suspension of the rules — thus leaning on Democratic votes to pass it, describing aid to both countries as “very much a priority.”