House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) slammed Democrats Saturday afternoon for flying Ukraine flags on the House floor following a vote to send military aid to the European country.
Johnson faced pushback from some Republicans in the House who wanted him to hold votes on foreign aid spending until more funding for border security measures was secured.
A separate vote was taken on each aid proposal with $60 billion allocated for Ukraine, about $17 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid, and $8 billion to support Taiwan. Another bill that could ban TikTok if the company is not divested from Chinese control was also passed.
In addition to waving Ukraine flags, many House Democrats also chanted “Ukraine!” on the Houses floor, which earned sharp pushback from many Republicans.
“These are not normal times here in the House or around the world as we all know, and we saw a disturbance here on the House floor just a bit ago,” Johnson said at a brief press conference following the passage of the spending package. “I just want to say simply what I think most people around the country understand and agree — we should only wave one flag on the House floor and I think we know which flag that is.”
Johnson noted that the world has been destabilized by America’s primary foreign enemies, Russia, China, and Iran.
“They’re a global threat to our prosperity, and our security,” he said. “Their advance threatens the free world, and it demands American leadership. If we turn our backs right now, the consequences could be devastating.”
Johnson said the legislation “provides for greater accountability over Ukraine aid, it forces an end game strategy for the Ukraine war, it includes a loan instrument of this foreign aid to Ukraine and the REPO Act, to ensure that Russian assets pay for part of the bill.”
“We will continue to keep an eye on every dollar that we’re using and investing at this time,” he later added. “I’ve said it very simply, I’ll say it once again. It’s an old military adage. But we would rather send bullets to the conflict overseas than our own boys, our troops. And I think this is an important moment, an important opportunity to make that decision. We allowed the House to do that. And I expect the Senate will make the same decision.”
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