Washington D.C. — The White House has ramped up criticism of House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson in recent days over their failure to bring up a Senate-passed bill that would provide aid to Ukraine, where conditions have grown more dire, as well as Israel and Taiwan.
White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt said in a statement Tuesday morning that "Speaker Johnson and House Republicans must act" on the foreign aid, noting that "time is of the essence."
"House Republicans are on Day 5 of an early, undeserved vacation while their inaction does escalating damage to our national security," LaBolt said. "We must stop Putin from continuing to murder innocent women and children while threatening our own national security."
The comments came after House Republican leaders dashed the hopes of bringing up a $95 billion Senate-passed foreign aid bill in the lower chamber last week.
"The way they're walking away from the threat of Russia, the way they're walking away from NATO, the way they're walking away from meeting our obligations, it's just shocking," the president said. "I've been here a while. I've never seen anything like this."
Johnson's team countered later in the day, saying that "we welcome the President's reversal and openness to meeting with Speaker Johnson about the best path forward for securing the nation," while noting that "it's long overdue."
The intelligence, shown to lawmakers last week and described by two members who have seen it, built on weeks of reports that have alarmed members of Congress and Biden administration officials. On Thursday, CIA Director William Burns warned that, barring more U.S. aid, Ukraine "could lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024."
It heightened the sense of urgency surrounding a White House effort to convince Johnson to hold a public vote on Ukraine aid that has dragged on behind the scenes since the day he became speaker. Johnson had resisted for months in the face of growing threats to his speakership if he sided with Biden and allowed the vote.
But significant damage has been done to the Biden administration's effort to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion during the funding impasse that dates back to August, when the Democratic president made his first emergency spending request for Ukraine. Even with a burst of new weapons and ammunition, it's unlikely Ukraine will immediately recover after months of setbacks.
Biden immediately approved sending Ukraine $1 billion in military assistance, the first installment from about $61 billion allocated for Ukraine. The package includes air defense capabilities, artillery rounds, armored vehicles and other weapons to shore up Ukrainian forces who have seen morale sink as Russian President Vladimir Putin has racked up win after win.
