White House fumes at Johnson for not approving foreign aid before House recess

The House left for recess this week without approving a foreign aid packaged to provide funds to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, a move that has the White House fuming at House Speaker Mike Johnson.

With no votes scheduled for Friday, the House is not due to return until Feb. 28, according to The Hill, meaning the fate of the Senate-passed $95 billion aid package will remain undecided for another two weeks.

"Every day that Speaker Johnson causes our national security to deteriorate, America loses. And every day that he puts off a clean vote, congressional Republicans’ standing with the American people plunges... Running away for an early vacation only worsens both problems," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. "[I]nstead of ending his politicization of the country’s safety, Speaker Johnson is cutting and running, sending the House on an early, undeserved vacation as he continues to strengthen Russia’s murderous war effort and the Iranian regime at the expense of American national security, U.S. manufacturing jobs, and our closest alliances."

The Senate approved the aid package after Republicans objected to a plan to pair the foreign aid with border reforms that many conservatives deemed likely to worsen the situation along the southern border.

Johnson, for his part, has remained resolute that any foreign aid must be paired with border security reforms.

"House Republicans were crystal clear from the very beginning of discussions that any so-called national security supplemental legislation must recognize that national security begins at our own border. The House acted ten months ago to help enact transformative policy change by passing the Secure Our Border Act, and since then, including today, the Senate has failed to meet the moment,"  he said earlier this week.

A Johnson spokesperson brushed aside the White House's remarks, telling The Hill that "[t]his criticism is unserious. The President — who has spent over a calendar year on vacation since taking office — continues to refuse to even meet with the Speaker."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.