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STORY: The U.S. House plans to hold separate votes on aid for Israel and Ukraine this week, according to Republican Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday. This comes after months of Republican divisions have delayed aid. But pressure on the GOP to act appears to have ramped up after Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel. Johnson cited ‘precipitating events around the globe’ when speaking to reporters Monday. “We know that the world is watching us to see how we react. We have terrorists and tyrants and terrible leaders around the world like Putin and Xi and in Iran. And they're watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and in our own interests around the globe. And we will.” Johnson said the House will break down the aid into four bills. Three include aid to Israel, Ukraine, U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific and U.S. national security priorities. The makeup of the fourth was not immediately clear. Johnson says the new House bills will provide roughly the same amount of foreign aid as a Senate one that House Republicans stalled earlier this year, which is roughly $95 billion, but differs by including some aid in the form of a loan. And Johnson expects the vote to come by the end of the week. GOP House Majority Leader Steve Scalise voiced support for the aid, and cited Iran’s recent attack. “If you just look at what we did to help Israel to shoot down the rockets and drones, those were a lot of American assets that were used. So we need to replenish our own supply.” House Speaker Johnson also faces a threat from hard-right Republicans to oust him if he allows Ukraine aid to go ahead. On Monday, Republican hardliner group the House Freedom Caucus released a statement calling for aid to Israel, but not to Ukraine. They rejected any suggestion the recent attack on Israel would ease the path towards more funds to Kyiv. Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries also wrote to his caucus on Monday, urging the need to support both Ukraine and Israel. Meanwhile, Ukraine appealed again to its allies on Monday for “extraordinary and bold steps” to boost its air defenses, after Russian attacks on its energy system in recent weeks.
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