Motion To Vacate Looms Over Speaker Johnson's Ukraine Plan

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) three-pronged plan to push an amended Ukraine aid package through the House in return for some soft wins on energy policy appears to be foundering under pressure from House conservatives.

• Although Johnson pledged to move a package soon after the House returns from recess on April 9, the week of April 15 appears the earliest it could come up for a vote.
• Sweeteners Johnson is looking to attach to the bill - rolling back the Biden admin's LNG export pause, converting some Ukraine grants into loans, and empowering the President to seize Russian assets - appear unlikely to soften a right-wing revolt led by Trump-ally Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Making the prospect of any vote at all uncertain.
• Greene reiterated in an interview with CNN yesterday that allowing Ukraine aid to pass with Democratic support under suspension of rules — Johnson’s only viable plan — would likely lead her to trigger a vote to oust Johnson. Note: Greene filed a motion to vacate Johnson as Congress departed for recess - the same procedural mechanism which Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) used to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023.
• Politico notes that although there is little political will for a repeat of the chaos that followed the ouster of McCarthy: “Johnson’s determination to act on Ukraine is putting him on a collision course with his conference’s hard-liners, multiple Republicans tell us — and Greene’s removal push could easily grow legs.”