US House Speaker Johnson demands direct talks with Biden to unlock Ukraine aid

WASHINGTON - United States House Speaker Mike Johnson on Feb 14 demanded direct talks with President Joe Biden to resolve an impasse over border security before the Republican leader will allow a House vote on

a US$95 billion (S$128 billion) Bill providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

 

Mr Johnson said he and the president should negotiate one on one over the immigration and border issues which have led House Republicans to block

war aid for Ukraine.

House Republicans have sought to turn back all migrants to Mexico, to fund a border wall and to curtail presidential power to parole migrants into the US interior. 

Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump and House Republican leaders rejected

a bipartisan Senate border compromise

that would have made it harder to apply for asylum for migrants illegally crossing the southern border and would have shut down the process entirely so long as current levels of migration are in effect. 

A White House official who requested anonymity said Mr Johnson has been inconsistent with his border security demands, causing a delay in funding critical national security interests.

The Speaker said he has made clear to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell that he will not allow a vote on the Ukraine aid Bill that the Senate passed on Feb 13, with 22 out of 49 Republicans voting in favour.

“The Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid Bill that was opposed by most Republican senators and does nothing to secure our own border,” Mr Johnson told reporters. 

He said he has been asking Mr Biden for a meeting for a month and has not been granted a one-on-one session and there are “a lot of ideas” in the House GOP conference for what a new border deal could look like. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Mr Johnson’s demand for a meeting. BLOOMBERG