Here’s What YOU Can Do About Speaker Johnson’s Betrayal of America.
This article is adapted from the free ‘Wake Up Right’ newsletter, 4-18-24
The National Pulse
Republican Speaker Mike Johnson is preparing to drop a massive foreign aid package, comprised mostly of money for Ukraine, that ignores the wishes of GOP voters and delivers a giant win to Joe Biden.
The details: The House Appropriations Committee released a memo yesterday unveiling three bills that Johnson will package into a single rule totaling $95 billion.
Ukraine gets $60.84 billion in taxpayer dollars to replenish weapons & services and fund U.S. military operations in the region.
Israel gets $26.38 billion to replenish the Iron Dome missile defense system and other defensive and offensive weapons.
Indo-Pacific gets $8.12 billion to build up our defensive and offensive capabilities in the region to counter China. This includes $2 billion for Taiwan.
Joe Biden immediately endorsed this plan.
The backstab: When Johnson became Speaker, he supported the position, widely held by Republican voters, that Congress should not allocate a single dollar for a foreign country until Joe Biden agreed to secure the border.
In January, Johnson said: “Before we even talk about Ukraine… We have to take care of our own house. We have to secure our own border before we talk about doing anything else.”
The pattern: Unfortunately, this foreign aid vote is not the first time Johnson has ignored the will of Republican voters.
He pushed FISA re-authorization, which allows the Biden Department of Justice to spy on American citizens without a warrant.
He allowed Congress to pass the Democrats’ spending bill.
He let Democrats raise the debt ceiling, digging us deeper into national debt.
What do Americans think? A new poll found that just 11 percent of Americans say Ukraine funding is more important than securing the border, while 50 percent put the border first.
Big picture: Senator Rand Paul sums up the situation best: “As I see it now, I’m not so sure there’s a difference between Mike Johnson being in charge and the Democrats being in charge.”
The House will vote on the foreign aid bill on Saturday. Readers are encouraged to call Speaker Johnson and politely let him know how they feel.
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