McConnell Urges Speaker Johnson To Hold Vote On Foreign Aid Package

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has again urged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to hold a vote on the Senate-passed foreign aid package will includes new funds for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. McConnell: “I want to encourage the speaker to allow a vote so that the House can speak.”

• McConnell's comments come as a discharge petition introduced by Republican House Rep Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) went live today. If the discharge petition were to attract a majority of House reps it would bypass the authority of Johnson, and the House Rules Committee, to bring a foreign aid package to the House floor. Fitzpatrick's bill includes much of the Senate bill but adds some sweeteners on immigration to attract GOP signatures. MNI's Political Risk team detailed the discharge petition in today's edition of the MNI US Daily Brief.
• Note: Discharge petitions are often discussed during periods of legislative gridlock but rarely come to pass. However, attracting the signatures of several moderate GOP reps would increase pressure on Johnson to make a decision on the Senate package.
• A short time ago, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced the first new package of Ukraine aid since December. Sullivan warned that the USD$300 milllion package - which includes ammunition, HIMARS, and missile defence systems - "will maybe only last a couple of weeks."