Word has begun to leak out about an “intense” meeting over government funding, the border and aid to Ukraine at the White House on Feb. 27, where Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was confronted by Mitch McConnell and the other leaders of the Democratic Party on Capitol Hill.
(Yes, you read the right, “other leaders of the Democratic Party.”)
Speaking to Fox News on Feb. 28, Mr. Johnson was asked by anchor Sean Hannity if there was any truth to the reports. The Republican lawmaker explained that he was definitely at odds with congressional leaders over the crisis at the southern border, among other issues, during the meeting.
“Well, their reports are pretty accurate. They said that I was on an island by myself, and it was me versus everyone else in the room,” Mr. Johnson said, according to reporting by Katabella Roberts of the Epoch Times.
“What the liberal media doesn’t understand Sean, is that if you’re here in Washington and you’re described as a leader that’s on an island by themselves, it probably means you’re standing with the American people,” he continued.
“And that’s what I did yesterday, I reminded the president, and all involved, that the number one issue in America is that open border. The catastrophe that we have, that President Biden himself designed, that he caused and created and I told him, just as I have many times before, he must address it with executive authority. We can’t wait any longer,” Mr. Johnson added.
The speaker said he brought up the border issue “repeatedly today in that room and, again, one-on-one with the president.” He added, “I think that’s our responsibility to bring that up,” and concluded his remarks by noting how “the first priority of the country is our border and making sure it’s secure. I believe the president can take executive authority right now today to change that.”
Lawmakers who attended the White House meeting, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, later described the meeting as “intense” while Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer told reporters that he and all other attendees, had repeatedly attacked Mr. Johnson on Ukraine aid.
At issue is potential funding for Ukraine, with the White House having repeatedly urged Congress in recent weeks to pass a $95 billion foreign aid package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, and around $9.2 billion for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Speaker Johnson told Fox News it is essential that Congress “breaks the cycle” in the way Washington works and “reform budgeting and spending” going forward.
The House Speaker also stressed that Republicans will not give up the fight to ensure President Biden secures America’s borders.
“The president has the executive authority to fix it right now, I told him at the White House yesterday one-on-one and in the group, I told him ‘Mr. President, if you just issue an executive order that reinstates the Remain in Mexico [policy] … the agents, your own border patrol agents, told us it would reduce the flow by 70 percent, almost overnight,’” Mr. Johnson said.
The House Speaker stressed the border crisis is a key issue for lawmakers, citing a rise in violent crime and murders, including the recent killing of university nursing student Laken Riley, allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra.
“When I showed up today, my purpose was to express what I believe is the obvious truth, and that is that we must take care of America’s needs, first. When you talk about America’s needs, you have to talk first about our open border,” Johnson told reporters.
Later, Speaker Mike Johnson told the Voice of America (VoA) on Feb. 29 that his chamber would consider $60 billion in aid for Ukraine “as soon as the government is funded.”
The House of Representatives approved a bill on Feb. 29 to avoid a partial government shutdown less than two days before a looming deadline that threatened to disrupt federal operations. To be implemented, the measure now has to be passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The Capitol Switchboard is (202-224-3121), call today and tell Speaker Johnson to stand firm on the America First agenda, and to secure the border before funding foreign aid.