Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced an amendment to a foreign aid bill to require members of Congress who vote in favor of providing aid to Ukraine to join the country's military.
The Republican Georgia congresswoman proposed amendments to the long-negotiated foreign aid bills for Ukraine and Israel on Wednesday night, after House Speaker Mike Johnson told representatives that they would vote on three separate bills. A further bill is being put forward for the Indo-Pacific region, including military funding for Taiwan.
Greene, who has long argued against providing any further funding to Ukraine, introduced three amendments to the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. One of her amendments states that "any member of Congress who votes in favor of this Act shall be required to conscript in the Ukrainian military."
The Context
Johnson is facing rising pressure for his attempts to bring a vote on providing foreign aid to Ukraine amid opposition from hardline members of the GOP.
On Wednesday, Johnson announced that the House will vote on three separate bills on Saturday regarding funding to Israel amid its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas and attacks from Iran, as well as the Indo-Pacific area amid threats from China.
Johnson also confirmed that following months of delay, the House will also vote on providing nearly $61 billion of aid to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, $23.2 billion of which will be used to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks, and facilities.
Greene has been leading the charge to threaten to introduce a motion to vacate against Johnson if he pushes forward to move foreign aid through the House.
President Joe Biden has already signaled he would "immediately" sign Johnson's proposed funding package to provide support to Israel and Ukraine should they clear the House and the Senate.
What We Know
Greene was one of several House members who proposed amendments to the Ukraine funding bill before it heads to the floor for a vote.
One of the amendments would be to require that any House members who votes in favor of the Ukraine aid bill must join the Ukrainian military.
Two other amendments introduced by Greene to the Ukraine bill are to force Ukraine to close all its bio-laboratories before it receives any more money, and for a report to be carried out before any more funding is sent to prove that "Christian churches in Ukraine are able to operate free from government interference."
Greene also submitted an amendment to the Israel funding package, which would see more than $26 billion in aid, calling for the funds to also be used for the "development of space laser technology on the southwest border."
Greene's office has been contacted for comment via email.
Johnson was asked on Wednesday if he is prepared to face a motion to vacate vote if Greene or any other hardline House GOP members introduce one in response to pushing forward with the Ukraine foreign aid bill.
"My philosophy is you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may. If I operated out of fear of a motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job," Johnson said.
"History judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now—a critical time on the world stage."
With the GOP's razor-thin majority in the House soon to be just one, Johnson would almost certainly need support from the Democrats in order to keep his role as House speaker.
Views
Greene defended her Ukraine bill amendment on X, formerly Twitter, saying: "I mean if you want to fund the war, why don't you go fight in it. Show your support for Ukraine."
Democratic Michigan congresswoman Hillary Scholten criticized Greene: "America deserves so much better than MTG and House Republicans' political theater.
"What a mockery of this very serious moment. We're going to take away their gavels in November."
What Next
The House is set to vote on the foreign funding bills on Saturday, a move which could ultimately cost Johnson his role as House Speaker.
"The reality for Mike Johnson that he just is not accepting or refusing to accept, publicly at least, is whether it happens two weeks from now, two months from now, or in the next majority, he will not be Speaker," Greene told Breitbart News.
"He does not have the support of the conference at all. There may be people who might not vote to vacate him right now, but they will never vote for him to be Speaker next Congress."
Update 4/18/24, 4:10 a.m. E.T.: This article was updated with reaction and context.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
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