On Thursday, Politico exclusively reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he “expects to pass a future Ukraine assistance bill with Democratic votes” — four weeks after the US Senate passed the bipartisan legislation that would help the country in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The speaker has been slow to move the bill to the House floor as he risks the same backlash from far-right members that his predecessor, US Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — losing his position. Moving forward with the Ukraine assistance could severely jeopardize Johnson’s position.
US senators were able to pass a short-term government spending bill — also known as a continuing resolution — for several federal agencies in order to avert a shutdown earlier this month. Reuters reports, “Congress must still work out a deal on a much larger package of spending bills, covering the military, homeland security, health care and other services. Funding for those programs expires on March 22.”
READ MORE: ‘Neck snapping’: Speaker Johnson’s latest ‘flip flop’ could kick shutdown down the road
US Rep. Stacey Plaskett, speaking with MSNBC’s The Weekend Sunday, warned that Johnson could force a continuing resolution for the rest of the year through the November election.
The Weekend co-host Alicia Menendez emphasized, “While Republicans struggle to perform the basic duties, they are continuing to distract with sideshows. On Wednesday, the Oversight Committee will hold a public hearing in a baseless quest to — guess what — impeach President Biden.”
She continued, “The president’s son, Hunter Biden, has rejected an invitation by Republicans to testify with his lawyers blasting the stunt, as a ‘circus act.'”
Menendez then turned to Plaskett to discuss why the government remains at risk of a shutdown due to House Speaker Mike Johnson’d refusal to move.
READ MORE: ‘My patience has run out’: GOP senator calls Johnson’s delay in funding government ‘absurd’
“I think our viewers would be forgiven if they have lost track of which potential shutdown this one is, so can you just walk us through,” the MSNBC host said, asking Plaskett, “What is at stake with this looming deadline?”
The Virgin Islands lawmaker replied, “Remember, we were able, finally able to pass a partial appropriations bill, which funds the government through next year, for some agencies. What is still left on the table are the ones that are the most vexing — that is the Department of Defense and a particular Department of Homeland Security. So within those, we are running up against issues of the border, immigration, as well as funding for Ukraine and the Middle East, et cetera. So those are the things that I think Mike Johnson is unwilling to take a position that he knows will potentially oust him, with his party, and so, we may have — this sounds crazy — a continuing resolution for the entire year.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
‘Unheard of’: Dem rep warns Johnson could cause ‘continuing resolution for entire year’www.youtube.com
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Source: alternet.org
