House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) on Sunday predicted additional funding for Ukraine will have “overwhelming support” in Congress, as sharp divisions amid lawmakers have left aid for the nation in limbo.
Turner, during an interview with CBS News’s “Face The Nation,” said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has “made clear” he supports Ukraine and indicated it would be a priority when Congress returns from its holiday recess.
“The Speaker has made very clear statements that when we get back, it’s the next top agenda, after having just passed all the bills that fund the federal government,” Turner said Sunday. “I believe this is going to have overwhelming support in Congress, and we’ll put a bill on the president’s desk.”
CBS News correspondent Ed O’Keefe then pressed Turner on whether the bill will have strong support from GOP members, or if it will require adding a loan payment plan or border security provisions.
“I think there already is significant and very strong support among Republicans and certainly across Americans, across the country,” he said.
Questions remain over how Johnson will handle the prickly subject of aid to Ukraine after he refused last month to consider a Senate-passed foreign aid package that would have included $60 billion for the embattled country. He pointed to the legislation’s lack of border security measures and floated giving aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan.
Turner said he thinks there will be discussions in both chambers about border security provisions and how the nonmilitary humanitarian aid is structured, but they will end with a negotiated package at the end of the process.
Asked if this will happen before Congress takes its next weeklong break later this month, Turner said it is “certainly my hope.”