Bloomberg: New House of Representatives speaker open to talks on providing aid to Ukraine
Photo: REUTERS
The newly elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said that he was ready to discuss additional aid to Ukraine.
Bloomberg reports that Johnson, who was previously skeptical of aid to Ukraine, said he was open to negotiations on President Joe Biden's request for additional funding for Kyiv.
As reported, on October 20, Joe Biden asked Congress for more than $100 billion in additional funding, particularly for aid to Ukraine and Israel.
According to Insider and Reuters, the Biden administration is asking to approve the allocation of $61.4 billion for Ukraine and $4.3 billion for Israel.
Who is Mike Johnson?
Mike Johnson entered the US House of Representatives in 2016. His current term is his fourth in Congress.
He actively supported former President Donald Trump and was a key figure in Congress when they tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Before coming to Capitol Hill, Johnson spent nearly two years in the Louisiana state legislature. He also has experience as a lawyer, specializing in constitutional law.
The congressman is a consistent fighter against abortion and a critic of same-sex marriage. The politician and his wife are raising four children. He is also an evangelical Christian and criticizes the separation of church and state.
Johnson takes an openly anti-Ukrainian position. Last May, Johnson voted against a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine. He explained his position by the fact that this money could be better spent on strengthening the southern border of the United States and other internal needs.
"We shouldn't be sending another $40 billion overseas when our own border is in chaos, American mothers are scrambling to find the baby formula, gas prices are at record highs, and American families are trying to make ends meet without enough control over where the money will go," he said then.
As Rubryka reported, on Wednesday, after several weeks of attempts, the US House of Representatives elected a new speaker — representative of the Republican majority, Mike Johnson.
The US House of Representatives could not pass new laws and adopt new aid packages without a speaker, including aid to Ukraine. The US interim federal budget is only due through mid-November, so Congress needs to address this issue to avoid a shutdown. The person of the speaker of the lower house of the Congress is important for Kyiv.
