Johnson says Ukraine aid will come up ‘right after’ recess and will include some ‘innovations’

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Sunday that he expects to move a package that includes aid for Ukraine when the House returns from recess and expects the package to include “some important innovations.”

In an interview on “Sunday Night in America With Trey Gowdy,” Johnson stressed the difficult position he’s in, with a historically narrow House majority, but said that he was working throughout the current work period to come up with a package and plans to put it on the floor when the House gavels back into session.

“Look, what we have to do in an era of divided government – historically, as we are – you got to build consensus. If we want to move a partisan measure, I got to have every single member, literally,” Johnson said. “And some things need to be bipartisan.”

“But when it comes to the supplemental, we’ve been working to build that consensus. We’ve been talking to all the members especially now over the district work period. When we return after this work period, we’ll be moving a product, but it’s going to, I think, have some important innovations,” Johnson said.

Johnson floated as examples the possibilities of extending a loan to Ukraine – an idea that gained some traction earlier this month, as a way to back Ukraine in a way that might assuage conservative concerns about providing more aid as Ukraine fights against Russian aggression.