Included in the spending bill backed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was a line item for hundreds of millions of dollars to support Ukrainian border patrol agents, yet none was provided for border patrol in America or other new, border defense initiatives of the sort Speaker Johnson promised that he would demand before passing Ukraine aid.
Specifically, in December of 2023, Speaker Johnson pledged, “I made this very clear. Again from the very beginning when I was handed the gavel, we needed clarity on what we’re doing in Ukraine, and how we’ll have proper oversight of the spending of precious taxpayer dollars and American citizens.”
At the time, Speaker Johnson also said, “And we needed a transformative change at the border. Thus far, we’ve gotten neither. The Senate has been MIA on this. The House passed H.R. 2, six months ago, more than six months ago. It’s been sitting and collecting dust on Chuck Schumer’s desk. I have told him personally, I’ve told the National Security Adviser, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, that these are our conditions because these are the conditions of the American people. And we are resolute on that. It is not the House’s issue right now. The issue is with the White House and the Senate, and I implore them to do their job because the time is urgent. And we do want to do the right thing here with that.”
Yet that promise was left by the wayside with Speaker Johnson’s spending bill, one that was passed on Friday, April 19. In the bill, which was passed by 151 House Republicans and 165 House Democrats, $95 billion was appropriated for foreign countries. Included in that was a whopping $61 billion for Ukraine and its war effort.
Included in Ukraine’s grab bag of aid is $300 million for Ukrainian border patrol. Specifically, the spending package provides, “For an additional amount for ‘‘International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement’’, $300,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2025, for assistance for Ukraine and countries impacted by the situation in Ukraine: Provided, That such funds may be made available to support the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and National Police of Ukraine, including units supporting or under the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Provided further, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.” Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service is its equivalent of America’s Border Patrol.
Posting about Speaker Johnson on X (formerly Twitter), Rep. Thomas Massie said, “I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I’m cosponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by @RepMTG. He should pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker.”
Speaker Johnson, for his part, insisted that he would not be resigning, saying, “I am not resigning. And it is, in my view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion.” He continued, “We’re simply here trying to do our job.”
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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