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House Speaker Mike Johnson has again informed the White House that without “transformative change to our nation’s border security laws,” House Republicans will not approve aid to Ukraine.
During an interview on Fox News with host Bret Baier, Johnson said that for the House to consider Biden’s request for additional aid to Ukraine, several conditions must be satisfied. The Biden administration’s plan to “prevail” in Ukraine, details on the current spending of military aid, and a “transformative change” to the nation’s border security are all part of the list of demands.
Below is a transcript of the exchange, via Grabien:
BAIER: “Are there significant steps that are happening, negotiations still going on with Secretary Mayorkas and others in the administration about changes?”
Johnson: “Well, I hope so. Look, I’ve been crystal clear about this. You know, if we are going to have a national security package of spending, national security begins at our own border. This is about our own sovereignty. These are policy changes that could be easily made but the White House has been very reluctant. They really went silent on us all of this time. I have been the speaker for a little over six weeks, almost seven weeks, and since the day I was handed the gavel, I have been saying that this was the condition, that we had to do this first. And we passed H.R. 2, the House passed our bill six months ago. It’s been sitting on the desk of Chuck Schumer ever since. They have not taken us seriously and here we are at the end of the year, and now they’re saying we’ve run out of time. It’s not the House’s fault.”
BAIER: “Yeah. Here is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the timing of all of this. Take a listen.”
[Clip starts]
McConnell: “They’re leaving at the end of the week. So, all I have said is practically impossible even though we reach an agreement to craft it, get it through the Senate, get it through the House before Christmas. That doesn’t mean it’s not important. And even though we have been emphasizing the border, I want to remind everybody of the importance of Ukraine.”
[Clip ends]
BAIER: “So, just logistically, is it — would you send the House home and then call them back if there’s a deal, or just punt everything to January?”
Johnson: “Look, the House will do its work if there was a deal. But it has not materialized. And as of tonight, they have given us the cold shoulder. So they are ignoring this, what I believe is a top priority of the American people. It doesn’t matter where I have been in the country over the last few weeks, Bret, whether I’m in New York or southeast or out west, they all say the same thing. They are deeply concerned about what’s happening. We had 12,000 people come over that border one day last week, on Wednesday. If you look at the statistics from October, November, and so far in December, more people have crossed that border illegally since any entire year at the end of the Obama Administration. It is not a sustainable situation. It is harming our country in ways that are hard to describe, and we have to get on top of it.”
BAIER: “So, what’s the red line when it comes to border policy to get the supplemental through?”
Johnson: “Listen, the House’s position is H.R. 2. It has very important provisions like asylum reform, parole reform, the end of the catch and release policies, the Remain in Mexico —“
BAIER: “And if they don’t go all the way to H.R. 2, could they get some place that’s satisfactory?”
Johnson: “It’s — that’s our position, but they have yet to come back and even volley anything over the net. So, that’s our position and we have been very resolute about that.”
WATCH:
Johnson also said he believes House Republicans have enough votes to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden this week.
