Here's Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday:
"The Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid bill that was opposed by most Republican senators and does nothing to secure our own border."
"This bipartisan legislation will allow the United States to continue to support the people of Ukraine..."
In a rare press conference on Wednesday, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the bill will not just aid Ukrainians fighting off Russia's invasion and replenish Israel's air defense systems but fund forces protecting commerce in the Red Sea against Houthi attacks, humanitarian aid in Gaza, and defense companies and submarine manufacturing in the United States.
"The overwhelming majority of the House Democratic caucus is ready to vote on this bill. Give us a vote."
Rep. Pete Aguilar is the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and on Wednesday called on Speaker Johnson to give the measure a straight vote on the floor.
Johnson on Wednesday said he first wants to have a meeting with President Joe Biden.
"I've been asking to sit down with the President to talk about the border, and talk about national security, and that meeting has not been granted."
"The president met with Congressional leadership less than a month ago, just less than a month ago."
But White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday expressed frustration with what she characterized as Johnson's moving goalposts on supplemental defense funding.
"It's almost as if the Speaker is actually negotiating with himself."
Jean-Piere said that the Speaker had first demanded extra funding for border security in any foreign aid bill. But he panned a bipartisan border deal reached in the Senate. Then, Tuesday night, the Senate passed a foreign aid bill without border funds.
Here's Johnson on Wednesday:
"But much more has to be done, of course, to secure the border. And what the Senate produced this week is silent on that issue."
"He's like, I don't want that either. So, what is it?"
The answer may lie not with Johnson but with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has opposed the military funding.
The United States and its allies are worried about how long Ukraine can hold off the Russians if the funding is not approved soon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked the Senate for passing the bill on Tuesday and said he hoped a vote in the House would happen quickly.
Britain's foreign secretary, David Cameron, on Wednesday urged lawmakers to move forward with the bill.
"The whole world is going to be watching what happens in Congress."
Republicans have a thin majority in the House. Both chambers of Congress must approve the legislation before Biden can sign it into law.
