Senior Democrats Urge Dems To Sign Ukraine Discharge Petition

Heather Caygle at Punchbowl News reporting that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) have made, "impassioned pitches" to the House Democratic Party whips, "encouraging members" to sign the national security supplemental discharge petition even if they don't support Israel funding - a major hurdle for progressive Democrats.

• The discharge petition, which currently has 193 signatures, needs an absolute majority of House Reps (218) to sign to automatically bring the Senate-passed USD$95 billion supplemental to the floor, bypassing the authority of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the House Rules Committee.
• Johnson appears tentatively committed to bringing a restructured supplemental package to the floor but is facing a threat from his conservative flank if he moves a Ukraine package without provisions to secure the US-Mexico border. His reformed package which transforms some grants to loans, rolls back the White House LNG export pause, and legislates the REPO Act appears unlikely to satisfy conservatives. As he is squeezed on Ukraine, releasing moderate House Republican reps to sign the petition could remove Johnson's political liability.
• Johnson will meet former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. The pair are likely to discuss strategy for protecting Johnson if right-wing House Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene triggers a vote to oust Johnson. As the ensuing chaos in the House would likely harm Trump at the ballot box in November, Trump may publicly re-endorse Johnson's speakership and urge conservative lawmakers to refrain from voting to remove him.