House Speaker Johnson’s foreign aid bill shows a focused GOP

Israel is one of America’s most important allies. They have stood by us in our times of need, and they are critical partners in ensuring our national security. I am proud to stand with our friends in Israel, and I commend House Speaker Mike Johnson and his colleagues for their ongoing dedication to Israel survival. The unprovoked terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 2023, was an abomination that cannot be allowed to stand. The national security legislation that speaker Johnson advanced and the Senate passed convert all financial assistance to Ukraine into a loan as former President Trump had recommended. It also strengthens oversight of the funding for Ukraine and requires allies to pay their fair share through cost matching requirements. The speaker’s legislation seeks to stop Iran from exporting 10s of billions of dollars of oil per year to China and sanctions anyone involved in buying, selling and manufacturing Iranians, missiles and drones. It also requires Tik Tok to divest from its parent company, which is under the control of Chinese Communist Party. And the legislation takes important steps to protect America’s personal data from China. In response to China and Mexican drug cartels collaborated on killing 1000s of Americans through fentanyl poisoning. The speaker’s legislation implements sanctions on transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels engaged in fentanyl trafficking, and it cracks down on fitness related money laundry. In separate legislation, Speaker Johnson sought to force the Biden administration to restart construction of the border wall to end catch and release for migrants flooding across our border to reinstate President Trump’s remain in Mexico policy and deploy necessary technology to our southern and our northern border. Unfortunately, President Biden and the congressional Democrats continue to block these common sense measures. Well, American voters will soon decide if this kind of obstructionist action is acceptable.

In the meantime, the victory for Republicans is that speaker Johnson has been a principled and effective leader. The small group of House members who object to some of his decisions and want to remove him from leadership said set aside their differences until after the election.

Our country has serious problems, and we need Republicans in Congress to remain focus on addressing them not fighting amongst themselves.