Republican Party leader Mike Johnson will visit Donald Trump on Friday in Florida to discuss burning issues in the US Congress and, in the process, try to save his seat.
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In principle, the two are holding a press conference at 4:30 pm (8:30 pm GMT) to discuss questions of “election integrity”.
But their behind-the-scenes conversations will no doubt focus on the litany of texts that US congressmen fight for.
U.S. aid to Ukraine began and was blocked in Congress for months, despite repeated pressure from President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Election deadlock
The US has not sent a large envelope to Kiev since December 2022, the first military support for Ukraine.
A $60 billion package of military and economic aid to Ukraine was sure to pass the Senate in February with a Democratic majority.
But Republicans in the House of Representatives, led by Mike Johnson, are refusing to scrutinize the text — because of, among other things, the broader controversy over immigration.
During a press conference on Wednesday, the Republican leader in Congress was very cautious about the future of the envelope.
“Various concepts are being studied,” he said simply, without giving any timetable or providing details along these lines.
In the middle of an election year, the issue has become a showdown between Joe Biden, a big supporter of aid to Ukraine, and Donald Trump, who is begging Kiev for loans instead of donations.
Threat of dismissal
Mike Johnson, however, wants to do everything but offend the former Republican leader, who is running for the White House and retains a great deal of influence over his party.
Especially at a time when he is fighting to keep his position.
Speaker Mike Johnson is actually under threat of impeachment — an effort led by Marjorie Taylor Green, one of Donald Trump's closest allies in Congress.
Elected from the extreme fringes of the Republican Party, the official accuses fifty-year-old conservatives of not adequately protecting their interests and wants him out of his seat for this reason.
The Republican majority in the House of Representatives is currently so slim that the calculation is not implausible unless Democrats also vote against the “Speaker.”
Will Donald Trump Save Mike Johnson's Job? Will aid to Ukraine be used as a bargaining chip?
The meeting between the two on Friday promises to be crucial in every way.
