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\u00a0House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he will\u00a0try to advance wartime aid<\/a>\u00a0for Israel this week as he attempts the difficult task of winning House approval for a national security package that also includes funding for Ukraine and allies in Asia.<\/p>\n Johnson, R-La., is already under\u00a0immense political pressure<\/a>\u00a0from his fellow GOP lawmakers as he tries to stretch between the Republican Party\u2019s divided support for helping Kyiv defend itself from Moscow\u2019s invasion. The Republican speaker has sat for two months on a\u00a0$95 billion supplemental package<\/a>\u00a0that would send support to the U.S. allies, as well as provide humanitarian aid for civilians in Ukraine and Gaza and funding to replenish U.S. weapons provided to Taiwan.<\/p>\n The\u00a0unprecedented attack<\/a>\u00a0by Iran on Israel early Sunday further ratcheted up the pressure on Johnson, but also gave him an opportunity to underscore the urgency of approving the funding.<\/p>\n Johnson told Fox<\/a> News Channel\u2019s \u201cSunday Morning Futures\u201d that he and Republicans \u201cunderstand the necessity of standing with Israel\u201d and he would try this week to advance the aid.<\/p>\n \u201cThe details of that package are being put together right now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at the options and all these supplemental issues.\u201d<\/p>\n GOP Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d that Johnson \u201chas made it clear\u201d that he sees a path for funding for Israel, Ukraine and allies in Asia to come to the House floor this week.<\/p>\n The speaker has expressed support for legislation that would structure some of the funding for Kyiv as loans, pave the way for the U.S. to tap frozen Russian central bank assets and include other policy changes. Johnson has pushed for the Biden administration to lift a pause on approvals for Liquefied Natural Gas exports and at times has also demanded policy changes at the U.S. border with Mexico.<\/p>\n But currently, the only package with wide bipartisan support in Congress is the Senate-passed bill that includes roughly $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.<\/p>\n White House national security spokesman John Kirby<\/a> called on the speaker to put that package \u201con the floor as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t need any reminders in terms of what\u2019s going on in Ukraine,\u201d Kirby said on NBC. \u201cBut last night certainly underscores significantly the threat that Israel faces in a very, very tough neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n As Johnson searches for a way to advance the funding for Ukraine, he has been\u00a0in conversations with both the White House<\/a>\u00a0and former president Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.<\/p>\n With his job under threat,\u00a0Johnson traveled to Florida<\/a>\u00a0on Friday for an event with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club. Trump expressed support for Johnson and said he had a \u201cvery good relationship\u201d with him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe and I are 100% united on these big agenda items,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWhen you talk about aid to Ukraine, he\u2019s introduced the loan-lease concept which is a really important one and I think has a lot of consensus.\u201d<\/p>\n But Trump, with his \u201cAmerica First\u201d agenda, has inspired many Republicans to push for a more isolationist stance. Support for Ukraine has steadily eroded in the roughly two years since the war began, and a cause that once enjoyed wide support has become one of Johnson\u2019s toughest problems.<\/p>\n When he returns to Washington on Monday, Johnson also will be facing a contingent of conservatives already angry with how he has led the House in maintaining much of the status quo both on government spending and more recently, a U.S. government surveillance tool.<\/p>\n Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a right-wing Republican from Georgia, has\u00a0called for Johnson\u2019s ouster<\/a>. She departed the Capitol on Friday telling reporters that support for her effort was growing.<\/p>\n While no other Republicans have openly joined Greene, a growing number of hardline conservatives are openly disparaging Johnson and defying his leadership.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, senior GOP lawmakers who support aid to Ukraine are growing frustrated with the months-long wait to bring it to the House floor. Kyiv\u2019s troops have been running low on ammunition and Russia is becoming emboldened as it looks to gain ground in a spring and summer offensive. A massive missile and drone attack\u00a0destroyed one of Ukraine\u2019s largest power plants<\/a>\u00a0and damaged others last week.<\/p>\n \u201cRussia is beginning to gain ground. Ukraine is beginning to lose the ability to defend itself,\u201d Turner said. \u201cThe United States must step up and provide Ukraine the weapons that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n The divided dynamic has forced Johnson to try to stitch together a package that has some policy wins for Republicans while also keeping Democrats on board. Democrats, however, have repeatedly called on the speaker to put the\u00a0$95 billion package passed<\/a>\u00a0by the Senate in February on the floor.<\/p>\n Although progressive Democrats have resisted supporting the aid to Israel over concerns it would support its campaign into Gaza that has killed thousands of civilians, most House Democrats have gotten behind supporting the Senate package.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason why the Senate bill is the only bill is because of the urgency,\u201d Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week. \u201cWe pass the Senate bill, it goes straight to the president\u2019s desk and you start getting the aid to Ukraine immediately. That\u2019s the only option.\u201d<\/p>\n Many Democrats also have signaled they would likely be willing to help Johnson defeat an effort to remove him from the speaker\u2019s office if he puts the Senate bill on the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m one of those who would save him if we can do Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine and some reasonable border security,\u201d said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n