Chuck Schumer Reportedly Bragged To Colleagues That Speaker Johnson Gave Democrats Everything They Wanted With $95 Billion Foreign Aid Bill

On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) revealed a $95 billion foreign aid package he plans to bring to the House floor for a vote on Saturday. The legislation doesn't include any funding for the southern border, but it does include $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, $8 billion for Indo-Pacific, and significant amounts for humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The bill, nearly identical to the Senate foreign aid package passed earlier this year, has gained the support of President Biden and the ire of House Republicans. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has reportedly bragged to fellow senators that Johnson caved and gave Democrats everything they wanted.

According to Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec, a senior Republican official explained that the Democrat Majority leader "was just on the Senate floor bragging to other members about Speaker Johnson giving Democrats everything they wanted in the Ukraine and foreign aid packages." As reported by The Post Millenial, Posobiec explained that there is nothing for the US-Mexico border in the bill. "Not one penny of this should be spent," the conservative commentator said. "None of these bills should go forward, and any Republican who thinks that they could sign these bills before we have anything for our border should be looking for a new line of work."

Despite promising to separate out Ukraine funding and Israel funding, Speaker Johnson rescinded that and has instead decided to package everything together. The Louisiana Republican explained his reasoning in a letter to his colleagues. "After significant Member feedback and discussion, the House Rules Committee will be posting soon today the text of three bills that will fund America's national security interests and allies in Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine, including a loan structure for aid, and enhanced strategy and accountability," Johnson wrote, adding that the legislation will go to the House floor for a vote on Saturday. While the bill does issue Ukraine aid in the form of a loan, that loan can be 50 percent forgiven by President Biden in November and then fully forgiven by 2026.

The aid package has sparked strong reactions from key figures in the House GOP. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) has called on all America First lawmakers to vote against the legislation. He posted on X, stating, "Every true conservative America First patriot in the House should vote against the rule for this borrowed foreign aid bill with no border security!" 

Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told CNN that he is disappointed by the speaker's actions. "I proposed different paths for the speaker that would have avoided the abject surrender represented by his strategic choice here. There is no other way to describe it. It's surrender. I won't support it."

While Speaker Johnson will suffer dozens of defections when the bill comes to the floor, President Biden signaled to Democrats to pass the legislation. "I strongly support this package to get critical support to Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Israel is facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine is facing continued bombardment from Russia that has intensified dramatically in the last month," the president said in a statement. "The House must pass the package this week, and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won't let Iran or Russia succeed."

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