- Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the US House speaker, on Monday unveiled a lengthy proposal to send US military aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as other foreign policy proposals including seizing Russian assets and banning TikTok from the US. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- The move deviates from a Democrat-led plan, passed in the Senate in February, which would have allocated $95B of US funds for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, among other items, in one fell swoop. Johnson's plan tables the matters separately, allowing the different factions to vote based on their preferences. Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- After a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers where he laid out the plans, Johnson told reporters: "The underlying text will have some of our innovation in it with regard to accountability for funding and some of these other metrics." He acknowledged that funding for Ukraine was "the most difficult part of this." New York Post (LR: 5 CP: 5)
- "I think the speaker is doing the right thing," Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, said after leaving the meeting. "He said the conference needs to be able to vote on each one of those bills." New York Post (LR: 5 CP: 5)
- After Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) left the meeting, he said: "I don’t like it. But I’m clearly in the minority." Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was threatening to oust Johnson as speaker. Her message was, "Don't fund Ukraine." Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Meanwhile, former Pres. Donald Trump, the GOP candidate in this year's elections, hosted Johnson at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. In a joint press event, Trump said he was considering Johnson's proposal to loan Ukraine military aid, rather than donate it as a gift. FOX News (LR: 4 CP: 4)
Republican narrative:
- Rep. Mike Johnson's approach here is the right one to take. By splitting up items into individual portfolios, members of Congress will each be able to vote on the matters that best serve the interests of each of their individual constituencies. This was a courageous move by the House speaker.
NEW YORK POST (LR: 5 CP: 5)
Democratic narrative:
- Rather than trying to vote through the Democrat-led plan that would've immediately approved $95B in military aid, Rep. Mike Johnson has instead come up with this complex alternative in an effort to keep his squabbling Republican lawmakers happy. While they're baying for his blood, there's no guarantee it'll succeed.
GUARDIAN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 7% chance that there will be a war between Russia and one or more NATO countries, but not the US, by 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)