With the fate of the Senate's foreign aid package now hinging on the GOP-controlled House, Democrats are not ruling out the possibility of trying to pass the billions of dollars for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific and more with a little-known procedural motion known as a discharge petition. 

What You Need To Know

  • Democrats are not ruling out the possibility of trying to pass the billions of dollars for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific and more through a procedural tool called a discharge petition
  • The chatter around the possibility only picked up steam on Tuesday when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declared that his caucus would “utilize every available legislative tool” to bring the bill for a vote 
  • Those on both sides of the aisle appear to agree that the foreign aid bill is likely to have enough support from Democrats and Republicans combined to clear the House if it makes it to the floor, but Speaker Mike Johnson has drawn questions around whether he would put it on the floor
  • Early on Tuesday, the Senate passed a $95 package providing aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, Israel as it battles Hamas, the Indo-Pacific as China grows its influence in the region and more after a bipartisan border deal was stripped

The chatter around the possibility only picked up steam on Tuesday when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declared that his caucus would “utilize every available legislative tool” to bring the bill for a vote. 

“All options are on the table,” he added. 

Those on both sides of the aisle appear to agree that the foreign aid bill is likely to have enough support from Democrats and Republicans combined to clear the House if it makes it to the floor. 

“There is no question that if the Senate bill was put on the floor in the House of Representatives, it would pass. It would pass,” President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday while urging House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to bring it to the floor. “And the Speaker knows that.” 

At least one House Republican agreed with Biden's assessment.

“If it were to get to the floor, it would pass — let’s just be frank about that,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said on The John Fredericks Show on Tuesday. 

But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., drew questions about whether he would allow a vote on it at all in the lower chamber after he sharply criticized the Senate package for not addressing the border. 

That is where a discharge petition would allow Democrats to work around Johnson, forcing a vote on the package without his blessing as long as they can get the sign-off of the majority of House members. 

But that also means a few Republicans would have buck their own leadership to give Democrats enough signatures – a politically tough decision, even if they support the foreign aid. 

And in the immediate aftermath of the package’s passage in the upper chamber, members of the House GOP – even well-known moderates – did not appear ready to jump on the idea. 

“I’m not interested in being a rogue element right out of the box,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told POLITICO. 

For his part, Johnson, told reporters he “certainly” opposes the potential move. 

“I hope that it would not be considered,” he said when asked about the possibility of a discharge position. 

And Democrats could also face the challenge of losing support from members of their own party, particularly progressives concerned about sending additional aid to Israel amid the humanitarian situation for civilians in Gaza. 

“I don’t think I could bring myself to vote for it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said on CNN on Tuesday, citing concerns about a lack of funding for UNRWA as well as Israel’s expected operations in Rafah. 

“It is up to Democrats in Congress to figure out how they're going to move forward in their procedure to get this done,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of a discharge petition. 

Early on Tuesday, the Senate passed a $95 package providing aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, Israel as it battles Hamas, the Indo-Pacific as China grows its influence in the region and more.

The GOP originally insisted the foreign aid must be tied to substantial border policy changes in order to get the party’s support – setting in motion nearly five months of arduous negotiations between a bipartisan group of senators and the White House. But the final product from those talks – an overhaul of border and asylum policies coupled with the foreign aid – was quickly shot down by enough Republicans to kill it, leading the Senate to drop the border provisions and move forward with just foreign assistance. 

Last week, Biden put the blame for the border deal’s downfall directly on his predecessor after former President Donald Trump vocally came out against the agreement. 

Johnson is criticizing the Senate bill for not addressing the border. He declared the bipartisan border deal in the upper chamber not enough.