A Menendez is in political trouble in New Jersey. And it's not Bob.

Rep. Rob Menendez, a first-term Democrat, is facing a stiff primary challenge from Ravi Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken. There’s no indication that Rob Menendez was part of the corruption scandal that’s led to multiple federal charges for his father, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), but Bhalla has used those legal travails as a cudgel against the younger candidate.

Which means that the alleged sins of his father could still cast a shadow over Rob Menendez’s bid to hang on to Bob’s former House seat. Some recent polling shows Rob Menendez trailing Bhalla, who has outraised him so far this cycle. And Bob Menendez’s potential independent Senate bid could also complicate his son’s plans if the two appear on the same ballot.

To hear Rob Menendez tell it, though, an old-fashioned focus on constituent services and local issues will power him through.

“Those who know me best know that since Day One, I have put every fiber of my being into doing the work for the residents of our great district,” he said in a lengthy statement. “I am grateful for the support of my colleagues at all levels who have seen me do the work. ... I look forward to continuing to collaborate with all of them on this important work and I will always put people above politics."

In the months since his father was indicted, he’s significantly increased his advertising compared to the months prior, according to an analysis of his Facebook ad analytics. On his official page, he regularly posts about office hours, constituent services and local policy issues.

Bob Menendez’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Still, the junior Menendez hasn’t shied away from swiping at Bhalla. They have frequently sparred on X, formerly known as Twitter, with Bhalla trying to link Rob Menendez to his father’s bribery indictment.

Menendez’s campaign has run ads accusing Bhalla of having ethics problems of his own; Bhalla has faced some disciplinary issues as a lawyer, including the temporary suspension of his law license in New York.

But even as Democrats sprinted away from the elder Menendez, they’ve largely stood behind the incumbent House lawmaker. The top three members of House Democratic leadership have endorsed him, with Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) taking part in a recent event for Rob Menendez.

Even Bob Menendez’s fiercest critics are inclined to give the younger Menendez a pass.

“People should be judged in terms of their own actions,” said Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), his party’s likely Senate candidate to succeed the elder Menendez. “People just need to ask themselves who they think is going to be able to best represent them and their needs, and I hope that that's what it comes down to.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who’s embraced the role of Bob Menendez intraparty foil, said he had nothing against the embattled House member. Yet he made clear that Rob’s fate is up to the voters.

“I don't have anything against him personally,” Fetterman said. I don't believe that he was part of all of the depravity and all that kind of sleaze.”

Rob Menendez has the backing of most of the state’s congressional delegation, too, with his fellow Democrats praising his work in Congress so far.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said it would be “pretty sick” if voters associated the younger Menendez with his father’s woes.

“He’s a great guy … and he’s a good congressman, and I’m supporting him,” he said. “I’ve already contributed. The folks that are here support him because he’s worked very hard. He hasn’t just taken a number and taken a seat.”

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) abruptly announced on Friday that he will not seek reelection, after initially planning to run for another term.

Posey’s announcement — if made earlier — could have easily attracted a spirited Republican primary, with politicians from the state’s Space Coast region already eyeing the seat once Posey retired. Florida’s 8th congressional district is a solid Republican seat.

Instead the 76-year-old incumbent’s announcement came shortly after qualifying officially ended and after his hand-picked replacement — former state Senate President Mike Haridopolos — had already quietly jumped into the race.

In a statement posted online, Posey said that he was “looking forward to another spirited campaign for a final term in office. However, earlier this week circumstances beyond my control now require me to suspend my re-election campaign.”

Posey did not elaborate what caused his turnabout. He's one of roughly two dozen Republican incumbents not returning to the lower chamber next year — all in safe seats — an unusually high number for a party in the majority.

“Without going into a lot of personal details, stars aligned during the past week and Mike decided he was ready for Congress,” Posey said. “I enthusiastically endorse him and will do everything I can to help him get elected.”

Posey, who had been in the Florida Legislature for 18 years prior to running for Congress in 2008, was a supporter of former President Donald Trump and usually stood aligned with the Republican majority. But he recently vote against the foreign aid package supported by Speaker Mike Johnson, and he also opposed reauthorizing a contentious surveillance program.

In his first term in office, Posey tried to pass a bill requiring that future presidential candidates produce a copy of their original birth certificate — a measure sparked by conspiracy theories surrounding President Barack Obama. Posey was ridiculed by late night comics for the move.

While he was in the Legislature, Posey was one of the main sponsors of the legislation that overhauled Florida’s voting system in the aftermath of the chaotic 2000 presidential recount.

Haridopolos — a former legislator turned lobbyist who served a two-year term as Senate president starting in 2010 — is one of three Republicans who qualified for the seat. But he will enter the contest with a likely advantage. Several top Florida Republicans — including Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — have already endorsed Haridopolos.

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The surprising bipartisanship between Senate and House leaders on the foreign aid bill, spending deals and FISA reauthorization is now in the rearview mirror, and a lot of rank-and-file members say that era of legislating is done for. Chuck Schumer isn’t letting it go quietly, though.

By now, you’re familiar with his list: The Senate majority leader name-checked cannabis banking, rail safety, $35 insulin and the House-passed tax bill during an interview this week. That’s on top of the soon-to-expire FAA bill and the September farm bill and spending package deadlines.

“The closer you get to the election, the harder it is, but I'm going to keep trying to get some bipartisan things done,” Schumer said. “Bipartisanship still is not dead.”

All of this is unlikely to happen without buy-in from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is increasingly going to prioritize leaving his GOP successor with a Senate majority now that Ukraine is funded. What does McConnell think of the prospect of future election-year bipartisanship?

You’ll be shocked to find out McConnell is being circumspect. “We’ll see,” he said when asked about Schumer’s to-do list.

“We have cats and dogs that are important, like the FAA reauthorization, that sort of thing. Every time I think surely that it’s for this year, something pops up. So, who knows?” McConnell said in a separate interview.

Not a no, but definitely not a yes.

Schumer and the GOP: The Senate majority leader has kept up some relationships with the GOP rank and file since the big bipartisan bills of 2021 and 2022 — for instance, with Sens. Mike Rounds and Todd Young on AI. Whether something even modest happens in 2024 might depend on folks like them.

“Well, I have to talk to my Republican colleagues. You know, I have different Republicans in here all the time on different bills,” Schumer explained, gesturing to his office.

He’s not at the point where he wants to jam the Senate GOP with the tax bill, though some Democrats think the bill’s prospects improve if Schumer schedules an uncertain floor vote. Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, the top Finance Committee Republican, said this week he still has issues with the bill.

“I’d love to get tax done. That’s a problem with Crapo. But maybe we can get it done,” Schumer said. “We could still do it. You might be able to come up with a compromise. You might have some new element that goes in there.”

McConnell the gatekeeper: Schumer attributed some of the last years of success to working with McConnell, even when he wasn’t always supportive. He recalled “conversations with McConnell when I said, ‘Maybe you can’t be for this, but don’t tell your people not to work with us.’”

When McConnell wants to stop something, he’s pretty good at it. That’s how he got the “Grim Reaper” nickname from Democrats — many of whom now praise him for his work on Ukraine and other bipartisan bills. He did some deals, particularly on the debt ceiling, in part to head off any hint that moderate Democrats might gut the filibuster. He also didn’t see issues like infrastructure and microchip funding as particularly partisan.

Has McConnell mellowed? This was once the guy who shut down much of Democrats’ agenda in divided government and blocked a Supreme Court seat from being filled. He said “one of my great pet peeves” is an old quote about his priority of making Barack Obama a one-term president, which he said is often used without subsequent comments saying he would be willing to work with Obama.

“I think you can't ignore the facts of each situation,” McConnell said of clinching bipartisan deals. “I always tried to find places where we can have an outcome if we can reach an agreement.”

“I read that one of my colleagues said my job was to be with whatever position was the majority position of my conference,” McConnell added. “I can tell you, if I had had a Hastert rule, we would have never raised the debt ceiling and never funded the government.”

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole has some revamped guidance on earmarks that Democrats won't like.

The new chair is barring nonprofits from receiving money through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Economic Development Initiative grant program, hoping to minimize some political headaches that popped up in the last months-long fight over funding the government.

That last spending package included more than $3 billion in earmarked funding for the HUD grant program, about a quarter of which flowed to nonprofits. Cole, who oversaw that subcommittee at the time, grappled with a fair share of partisan drama over funding that would have flowed to LGBTQ+ organizations — fighting he seems eager to avoid the next time around.

During an Appropriations markup last summer, Democrats accused House Republicans of behaving like “terrorists,” as they worked to strip millions of dollars that lawmakers had already secured for projects in their districts.

“Some of these are unobjectionable, some of them create political problems for people,” Cole recently told reporters. “That’s just the reality of it. I shouldn’t have to have a political problem in my district because I voted for a bill that had your earmark in it.”

Cole's directive continues to ban earmarks under the Financial Services and Labor-HHS-Education funding bills, a major change that took effect under the previous chair, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas).

Of course, Cole's guidance has no effect on the Senate earmarks process, and right now nothing bars Democrats in the upper chamber from inserting money for projects that House Republicans will ultimately find objectionable. And, like the Labor-HHS-Education funding bills this year, it could mean senators get a leg up on spending back home.

“Historically, the Senate and the House have done their own thing,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who oversees the Transportation-HUD panel, in a recent interview.

“And I don’t see any reason to break from that tradition. Chairman Cole does a very effective job of managing the process, and if that's what's necessary to enact appropriations bills from the House standpoint, I don’t begrudge him that,” Schatz said. “But I don't anticipate that it's necessary for the House and Senate to have the exact same earmark process.”

Ben Leonard contributed to this report.

The FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown worked on for more than a year with GOP Sen. Tim Scott to pass, hasn't garnered headlines like this week's foreign aid package did.

It’s still hugely important for Brown — and his political future.

The bill empowers the president to sanction drug traffickers and gangs, a big deal for Brown since Ohio has one of the highest overdose death rates in the country. It’s also a bright contrast with Brown’s GOP opponent in his tight Senate race, Bernie Moreno, who said he would have opposed the foreign aid package Tuesday.

The Senate Banking chair has perhaps the most ambitious portfolio of bipartisan legislation he hopes to pass of any at-risk senator. And while the FEND Off Act is a popular priority in Congress, it had plenty of false starts after Scott introduced the bill and Brown helped shepherd it through committee.

First the legislation was slated to be wrapped into a defense bill, then a doomed border security package. Finally this month, it was included as essentially the only major border-related item in the foreign aid package, which is now law.

Brown touted law enforcement’s endorsement of his and Scott’s bill, saying they had asked for “more tools to stop fentanyl at its source.” And Ohio Democrats quickly tweaked Moreno’s campaign for saying he’d oppose the package Tuesday, after he said he only supported the Israel component. He also was no fan of the first border package in February, which contained the FEND Off Act.

However, as Brown touted his legislative accomplishment Wednesday, Moreno clarified he would have supported the fentanyl bill on its own and was happy that part had passed. He then criticized Brown, who supported the bipartisan border deal.

“Bernie is happy to see any action to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country and would have supported this as a standalone bill. However, Sherrod Brown has a long record of supporting open border policies that have exacerbated the fentanyl crisis,” said Moreno spokesperson Reagan McCarthy in a statement to POLITICO. McCarthy went on to cite several of Brown’s votes on the border wall and other immigration policies.

The sausage-making of Congress often makes it impossible to get that standalone vote, as several Republicans lamented this week amid an up-or-down call on the $95 billion aid package. For his part, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a Moreno ally, is a co-sponsor of the fentanyl bill but was a staunch opponent of the entire package.

Though Moreno isn’t alone in his stance, Brown’s campaign is not holding back. It’s not hard to see why: The fiery Democrat’s reelection chances in Ohio may rise or fall upon his ability to work with the GOP.

“Sherrod's leading the fight to stop the flow of fentanyl into Ohio and working with Republicans to get it done — the fact that Bernie Moreno has opposed it every step of the way is another reason he’s wrong for Ohio,” said Reeves Oyster, a Brown spokesperson.

President Joe Biden and Speaker Mike Johnson built an unlikely working relationship in recent months — a partnership that handed Biden a pivotal foreign policy victory and surprised much of Washington, which assumed nothing at all would get done.

But that relationship remains one of convenience. And as congressional Democrats debate whether to prop up Johnson’s speakership amid threats from Republicans looking to oust him, Biden is signaling that he’s going to stay out of it.

The White House will instead leave it up to House Democratic leaders to determine whether to rescue Johnson or let Republicans once again devour their own and pitch the chamber back into chaos.

Within the West Wing, the prevailing belief is that Biden has already gotten everything he could have asked for from Johnson’s brief time as speaker — and that, even if he felt compelled to pay him back, any involvement in a high-stakes speakership fight would hurt, not help.

So he’s staying away. The president has so far refrained from advising House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on what to do should conservatives try to oust Johnson, aides said. He has offered no assurances about the future in his calls with the Speaker. And after clinching a deal to send billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Biden aides believe the House has largely finished its major legislative activity for the year.

“It benefits him politically to have engaged in this negotiation, gotten a bipartisan result and looked like a leader in the U.S. and on the world stage,” said one Democratic strategist in touch with House leadership, who was granted anonymity to freely discuss party dynamics. “Turning around and weighing in one way or another distracts from that win.”

The president’s hands-off approach comes despite Johnson’s decision to work with the administration to pass billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. That work fulfilled a top Biden administration priority, but also enraged a handful of conservative lawmakers who are now intent on forcing Johnson out, in part over the unlikely working relationship he carved out with the Democratic president over the past six months.

A staunch conservative closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, Johnson nevertheless built something of a rapport between his office and senior Biden officials.

The two sides tightroped through a monthslong federal funding fight, managing at every turn to keep the government open. They made a joint push to pass a controversial bill reauthorizing surveillance authorities. And after months of stalled talks, Johnson backed a sweeping foreign aid package that sent funds to Ukraine over the objections of much of the GOP conference.

The agreements eroded Johnson’s support among some of the Republicans who installed him. But they won grudging respect among senior White House officials who knew Johnson was putting himself in danger by even considering a Ukraine aid package. The threat of a motion to vacate underpinned the negotiations between Johnson and Biden aides, who sought to balance the urgency of the matter against the likelihood it would destabilize Johnson's ability to lead the GOP conference. His actions also impressed many Democratic lawmakers, who have since indicated they're inclined to help keep him in charge of the House.

“Once you assume the chair, you become an adult and you have to act like an adult, and he did it,” said one adviser to the White House, who was also granted anonymity to discuss sensitive political relations. “Now, even though he’s going with the overwhelming majority of his members, he’s still at risk of losing his job.”

The White House’s view of Johnson as a good-faith operator stands in sharp contrast to senior aides’ opinion of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, who they regarded as fickle and often unreliable in the lead-up to his ouster last fall.

Yet Biden aides emphasized they won’t try to sway whatever political fate awaits the speaker. The White House is wary of appearing to undermine Jeffries’ authority over his conference, and Biden aides have grown to trust the Democratic leader’s instincts after watching him navigate the chaotic events of the past year.

There are a number of other political variables that could affect Biden’s view of Johnson’s speakership in the lead up to the November election. Among them, he has little that he needs to accomplish legislatively before November, meaning there’s no immediate urgency for stability in the House. In addition, some Biden allies argue that there is a political incentive for Democrats to allow the GOP to self-destruct. With the U.S. embroiled in two major wars, though, others believe it’s critical the House remain functional enough to respond to a sudden emergency. It took Republicans three weeks and a half-dozen votes to settle on Johnson as speaker after ousting McCarthy. Many in the GOP expect a sequel to be just as painful, if not more so.

There’s also the overarching truism that even if Biden did feel strongly about Johnson’s fate, any attempt to engineer an outcome could easily backfire, unifying Republicans against the White House and dividing the Democratic conference in one fell swoop.

“I don’t think there’s anything left that the president feels he has to get done by Election Day,” said the adviser to the White House. “They’re worrying about how do we cement our position in November?”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said following the House vote on the foreign aid package that the administration would stick to its blanket policy against opining on congressional leadership battles, adding that the question of whether to protect Johnson is for Jeffries and his conference to decide.

“We do not get involved,” she said.

Jeffries has been reluctant to commit to saving Johnson, and said during a press conference last week White House officials haven’t weighed in on the potential upcoming decision.

“They have not,” made an argument one way or another, Jeffries said. “That was also the case in October of last year” when Democrats did not save McCarthy.

But within his conference, several Democrats say they favor shielding the speaker from his own party — a reality that Jeffries acknowledged as far back as February.

Many House Democrats believe Johnson displayed his mettle in supporting Ukraine aid, lawmakers and aides said, and deserves to remain in the job. They have little appetite for enduring the bedlam that would ensue if the House were suddenly speakerless once again.

Politically, some argue, Democrats benefit from showing they’re the responsible adults in the room and will be rewarded for crossing the aisle to oppose the GOP’s most extreme tendencies. Personally, they acknowledge, it may simply feel good to deal a resounding loss to antagonists like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a now vocal Johnson critic.

“It’s a low-risk play for Democrats, with some upsides,” said Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at centrist Democratic think tank Third Way. “There’s a yearning for some normalcy if you’re a member, and to leave the wartime footing.”

That view isn’t unanimous, especially among those who now feel Johnson is getting outsized credit for doing what in their estimation was the bare minimum.

“No one should confuse Mike Johnson with a profile in courage or a great hero for doing the right thing after everything else failed,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.).

Others note that Johnson has yet to back off other efforts to damage the White House, including his support for the impeachment investigation into Biden. Not moving to prevent his ouster would derail the rest of the GOP’s objectives.

“If part of the Republican caucus wants to fire bullets at the other party of the Republican caucus, why would we get in the way of that?” said the Democratic strategist in touch with House leadership. “Chaos is our friend. Republican dysfunction is our friend. Who is not our friend is Mike Johnson.”

Those deliberations are only likely to intensify when the House returns next week, setting the stage for Greene to officially challenge Johnson over his job. But the White House insists it won’t be part of those discussions — and across the spectrum, from Johnson’s staunchest opponents to his closest allies, there’s broad agreement that’s probably for the best.

“Anything that Biden said positive about any Republican,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who is close with his former colleagues in the House and supports Johnson, “is not good.”

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Donald M. Payne Jr., a member of a prominent Newark political family who represented the city and nearby communities in Congress for over 11 years, died Wednesday following a heart attack brought on by complications from diabetes, his office said.

Payne, 65, entered Congress somewhat reluctantly in 2012 following the death of his father, Rep. Donald Payne Sr., who was the first Black person elected to Congress in New Jersey and who became one of the city’s luminaries during his more than two decades in Congress.

Payne had been hospitalized and reportedly unconscious since the April 6 heart attack.

Though he never developed the high profile of his father and was stricken with health problems during the last several years that led to him to frequently vote by proxy, Payne Jr. was well-liked by his colleagues and served as chair and ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

On that committee, he was instrumental in securing funding for the biggest infrastructure project in the state: The Gateway Project to replace the dilapidated century-old train tunnels between New Jersey and Manhattan.

“It was my great honor to work side-by-side with Donald to build a stronger and fairer New Jersey, and we will hold his memory close to our hearts as we build upon the Payne family’s deep legacy of service in advocating for the communities they served so dearly,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement announcing the congressman’s death.

Payne’s district, which includes parts of Essex, Hudson and Union counties, is one of the most heavily Democratic in the country. Primary ballots were due to be mailed on April 20, so his name will remain on the ballot. His successor as a general election candidate is expected be determined by members of the Democratic county committees in the towns covered by his district.

The governor has the authority to call a special election to replace Payne for the remainder of his current term. When his father died in March 2012, then-Gov. Chris Christie called a special election for that November to coincide with the regularly-scheduled general election.

While in Congress, Payne emphasized expanding access to health care.

In 2021, he sponsored legislation to promote screening for colorectal cancer, the cause of his father’s death. Last year, he introduced the Amputation Reduction and Compassion Act to promote screenings for peripheral arterial disease with the aim of reducing amputations brought about by the condition, which is often associated with diabetes.

Payne is survived by his wife Beatrice and their three adult triplets: Donald III, Jack and Yvonne.

The Payne family is one of the most prominent in Newark politics. In addition to Donald Payne Sr.’s time in Congress, Payne Jr.’s uncle William and cousin Craig Stanley both served lengthy tenures in the New Jersey Assembly.

Payne Jr., a Hillside High graduate who grew up on Newark’s Bock Avenue and lived on the street his entire life, began his political career as a teenager when he founded the South Ward Junior Democrats.

He began working in government in 1990 with the former New Jersey Highway Authority, then with the Essex County Educational Services Commission from 1996 until 2006, where he served as supervisor of student transportation.

“As a former union worker and toll collector, he deeply understood the struggles our working families face, and he fought valiantly to serve their needs, every single day,” Murphy said. “That purpose was the light that guided him through his early years as Newark City Council President and during his tenure on the Essex County Board of Commissioners. And it guided him still through his more than a decade of service in Congress.”

Payne was first elected to office in 2005 as an at-large Essex County freeholder, and just months later successfully ran for an at-large seat on the Newark City Council. That was shortly before New Jersey banned dual office-holding for most politicians. Payne remained in both positions — he was elevated to Newark council president in 2010 — until his father’s death and his election to Congress.

Payne often cut a unique image on the House floor with his colorful dress and bow ties.

“Always dressed to the nines. During campaign time, you can see him sporting a ‘RUN DMP’ shirt, a witty play on the popular hip-hop group RUN DMC,” state Sen. Britnee Timberlake, an Essex County Democrat, wrote following the disclosure of Payne’s grave condition.

Other members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation expressed their grief at Payne’s passing.

"We have lost Donald far too soon but the Payne name will live on in Newark and North Jersey forever," said Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell.

Rep. Frank Pallone, a Democrat, said Payne called him “Uncle Frank” whenever they saw each other because of a strong relationship forged after Payne’s father died.

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Despite private pressure from centrists, Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he would not remove three conservative hard-liners from the powerful Rules Committee, where they've heavily impeded getting GOP bills to the floor.

The panel is typically comprised of lawmakers who are closely allied with leadership, as most bills that get floor votes have to go through those lawmakers. But GOP Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Ralph Norman (S.C.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.) have hamstrung that process, either blocking bills or forcing Johnson to find a way around the panel several times since he took over the House in October.

Most recently, the trio opposed a rule setting up floor debate on the sprawling foreign aid package, forcing the unusual step of Democrats providing the votes to get it through committee. But Johnson said he isn't considering removing them from the panel, despite his conference's internal frustrations.

"If I start kicking people off committees right now, it's likely that I cause more problems than it solves," Johnson told "The Hugh Hewitt Show" on Wednesday, adding that "there are actions and then there are reactions and reverberations from the actions" given House GOP leaders' one-vote margin.

Norman late last week said that Johnson hadn't indicated to him that he was considering booting him from the committee, while other conservatives in the conference were skeptical that the speaker would take that sort of step, since it would be viewed as retribution and out of sync with his leadership style.

In the interview, Johnson also defended his handling of the foreign aid package providing assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, even as some conservatives have vowed its passage would result in a vote to oust him from the speakership. So far, they have not triggered that push.

"History is going to judge this well. It was the right thing to do," Johnson said. "The perception of a strong America is essential on the world stage — and I think the Congress has acted to make sure that happens."

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure late Tuesday evening, sending it to President Joe Biden, following House passage over the weekend. Biden is expected to sign it Wednesday.

The speaker also predicted Republicans would regain the Senate, expand their House majority and that former President Donald Trump would regain the White House this fall.

"We're gonna have an extraordinary election cycle in November," Johnson said. "We'll be able to turn this thing 180 degrees."

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

Speaker Mike Johnson called for Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign amid a wave of antisemitic protests that have roiled the Upper Manhattan Ivy League campus.

Johnson's comments to The Hugh Hewitt Show on Wednesday morning make him the most senior elected official to demand the president's resignation, and he's slated to visit the campus in the afternoon. It's another sign Republicans are looking to impose federal consequences on prominent universities that have seen waves of protests related to the fallout from the war in Gaza.

"This President Shafik has [been] shown to be very weak and inept leader. They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students," Johnson said. "Every political official — every citizen of good conscience — has to speak out and say that this is not who we are in America, and we got to have accountability and that's what my colleagues and I are going to be working on."

The position isn't exactly surprising, marking a relatively easy way for Johnson to align with the more conservative wing of his conference — who he's hoping will cool down before returning to D.C. next week, as some consider a vote to oust him — without irritating centrists. All 10 New York House GOP lawmakers have called on Shafik to resign, including those from Biden-won districts. No. 4 House Republican Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) has also championed those demands.

The speaker said he would meet with Jewish students and Rabbi Yuda Drizin at Columbia before holding a press conference with several House colleagues, including New York GOP Reps. Mike Lawler, Nicole Malliotakis and several other members of the state delegation.

A group of House Democrats visited the campus on Tuesday and called on the school to do more to protect Jewish students.

In the interview, Johnson proposed cutting federal funding to schools who cannot control the protesters or revoking student visas for some involved in the antisemitic protests. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Tuesday floated the idea of calling in the National Guard to Columbia.

"We need to revoke federal funding to these universities if they cannot keep control," the speaker said. "We need to revoke these student visas for these violent protesters. You don't have a right to be here and to do this."

The Senate sent a $95 billion foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan to the president's desk Tuesday — a long-awaited result after months of congressional haggling over whether to provide funding for the allies.

The bill also included a provision that would require TikTok's parent company to either sell the social media app or face a ban, as well as a measure that permits selling off Russian oligarch assets.

Though the legislation passed with bipartisan support, 79-18, the political ramifications will be felt throughout the Capitol. It’s a win for Democrats and defense-focused Republicans on the critical issue of Ukraine aid, but a swath of conservatives are incensed with party leadership for allowing the bill through.

Some opponents of the bill attempted to delay passage on Tuesday with floor speeches, but senators were only permitted up to an hour each to speak. And there weren’t that many senators eager to participate — particularly given that this week was originally slated to be a recess week, and many members were ready to get home.

Adding to the woes of Ukraine-aid critics, Republican support for this round of foreign aid increased compared to a few months ago. When the Senate voted on a similar deal in February, it passed 70-29.

That earlier version of the bill stalled in the House. But Speaker Mike Johnson introduced his own rendition of the legislation, which segmented aid for each ally into individual votes before lumping the bills back together into a single package for the Senate.

As Congress balked for months, Ukraine began fading in its war with Russia and worries grew that the delay in assistance was costing the country on the battlefield.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he believes that "when it became clear that Russia could be at Poland's border in a year, if we didn't help, it started changing things.”

“It strengthened the resolve of the mainstream Republicans,” he added.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for his part, has remained a stalwart supporter of funding Israel and Ukraine despite resistance from within his own conference. He acknowledged Tuesday there had been some difficulty in garnering Republican support.

Still, he didn’t mince words in his applause for the outcome.

“This was a really, really big day for America and for the rest of the world that actually elects their leaders,” McConnell told POLITICO. “When you've been here as long as I have, you've had a few big moments. I don't think I've ever had a bigger one than this in terms of the level of importance to our own country and to our place in the world.”

Despite their failure to block the legislation, Ukraine aid critics insisted they’d won on another front: making it clear that other nations couldn't keep expecting easy checks from the U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) after the vote told reporters, “We were able to make it pretty clear to Europe and the rest of the world that America can't write blank checks indefinitely.”

And, to that point, it's unclear what Congress’ role in Ukraine and Israel is going forward. Democrats have voiced growing concerns about humanitarian conditions in Gaza, and some senators had even warned before the vote that Israel aid could have a tough time in the Senate this go around because of Democratic resistance.

That forecasted holdup didn’t come to fruition. But with Congress done with its share of funding, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who voted against final passage of the bill, suggested the responsibility now falls on the White House.

“My hope is that the president will continue to be very assertive” in pushing for limited civilian casualties, Welch told reporters.

Schumer after the vote said he’s confident the White House will do everything it can to ensure Gaza humanitarian aid “gets to the people in need as quickly as possible.”

And with both Israel and Ukraine mired in conflicts that have no apparent immediate solution, questions linger on what happens the next time Ukraine, Israel or another American ally needs assistance. Schumer said it is a very “full” package but would not forecast when it might run out.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who voted for the package, acknowledged that eventually Congress will be faced with the task of foreign aid again. He suggested that problem will come next year — and that then, things might go a little more smoothly.

“Another thing that’ll be going for us is it will be a nonpolitical year,” Mullin said. “And things seem to happen a little bit easier when people aren't trying to save themselves.”

NEW YORK — Scandal-plagued former Rep. George Santos dropped his independent bid on Tuesday for an eastern Long Island House seat.

Santos, who faces multiple felony charges, wrote on X that he did not want to potentially divide the Republican vote for first-term GOP Rep. Nick LaLota and help the eventual Democratic nominee in the 1st congressional district.

“Although Nick and I don’t have the same voting record and I remain critical of his abysmal record, I don’t want to split the ticket and be responsible for handing the house to Dems,” Santos wrote in the post.

LaLota responded: "Chat GPT translation: He’s taking a plea deal."

Santos became the sixth member in history to be expelled from office in December after a damning House Ethics Committee report concluded he engaged in a “complex web” of illegal activity. Santos’ former House seat, which covers parts of Queens and Nassau County, was subsequently flipped in a February special election by Democrat Tom Suozzi.

The former lawmaker faces 23 felony fraud charges, including identity theft and charges he submitted false campaign finance reports. He has pleaded not guilty.

Despite his numerous legal troubles, Santos insisted in his post Tuesday he wanted to remain active in politics.

“The future holds countless possibilities and I am ready willing and able to step up to the plate and go fight for my country at anytime,” he posted.

Santos had previously signaled in March plans to run for the Republican nomination against LaLota, but later abandoned those plans to run as an independent.

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A number of Senate Republicans reversed course from their prior opposition to a sprawling foreign aid package — to now back advancing the House-passed measure providing funds to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

Among those flipping their votes: Katie Britt (Ala.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Deb Fischer (Neb.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), James Lankford (Okla.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Pete Ricketts (Neb.) and Tim Scott (S.C.).

Overall, the procedural vote passed easily, 80-19.

“It's just so much easier to go back home and say, ‘Listen, we're asking people to pay us back when they can if they can,’” Graham said in an interview. “This is just a much better package. It's more robust for Israel.”

To be clear, procedural votes don’t automatically indicate support on final passage.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who opposed final passage of the prior February measure, voted to advance this foreign aid package, though he did vote affirmatively on the procedural vote for the previous measure as well. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who was absent from the February vote, opposed this measure. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who voted against the deal in February, was absent from Tuesday's vote.

The Senate advanced a House-passed foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan by a 80-19 vote Tuesday afternoon — putting an effort that’s been stalled for months on the precipice of passage.

The question now is how long it takes to get to the final vote. Senators were originally slated to be on recess this week, and there’s little desire for a long stay in Washington.

Senators are preparing for a late night, with opponents of the bill signaling they may speak for hours to delay passage. The legislation may pass in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, but Senate leaders are resolved to grind through conservative resistance.

And conservatives' options are “somewhat limited,” as Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) put it, given that each senator only gets up to an hour of time to speak.

“The forces that be that control [the] calendar on this want this to happen quickly,” Schmitt said.

Final passage of the bill is largely a foregone conclusion, with the overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats in support, and a smaller but reliable contingent of Senate Republicans also backing the deal. What's more, support for foreign aid grew in the procedural vote: A number of Senate Republicans who'd opposed passage of a previous foreign aid bill in the Senate earlier this year flipped to vote in favor of advancing the bill on Tuesday.

The Senate previously passed its own version of aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan aid, but that bill stalled in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson later took a different approach by chipping the different buckets of aid apart and putting each to an individual vote on the floor. The bills were regrouped into one package before getting kicked to the Senate.

Summing up the mood, Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-Md.) forecast for final passage was “early today, late tonight or late tomorrow night — those would be my three guesses.”

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

Conservative rebels looking to oust Speaker Mike Johnson are continuing their threats despite former President Donald Trump's words of support Monday.

"It’s baffling hearing the establishment complain that it’s too much drama, too hard, and too risky to go through another Speaker race," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), the source of the current motion-to-vacate resolution, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. "Complete surrender is not acceptable and will not be tolerated."

Trump defended Johnson, noting his razor-thin one vote effective majority on any vote, during an interview with radio host John Fredericks on Monday.

"It’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do. I think he’s a very good person," Trump said following his time in court in New York on Monday. "I think he’s trying very hard.”

But the former president's words didn't placate those looking to oust him. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), another supporter of the motion to vacate, blasted Johnson again Tuesday.

"We don’t expect to get everything, but we also won’t tolerate complete & total surrender," he wrote in a post.

Separately, the Kentucky Republican added: "The U.S. House has gone to the dogs. It’s downright embarrassing. Time to clean up the mess."

It's not just conservative agitators in Congress, though, unbowed by Trump's remarks.

Former Trump adviser and influential conservative media figure Steve Bannon blasted the speaker in a post: "Johnson is NOT Trying @ All—on Defending President Trump or Defending America—NOTHING."

Senators return to Washington on Tuesday for two procedural votes on the House-passed foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

The big question today: How long final passage is delayed. Senators are already back in town on what was slated for a recess week. Each senator gets just up to one hour to speak after those procedural votes occur.

Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is staunchly opposed to the Israel military aid piece of the puzzle, is among those interested in amendment votes. "The Senate should have a chance to debate and vote on the key components of such a massive package," he said in a statement Monday evening.

One more thing to flag: The House is back for a pro forma session at 10:30 a.m., with its ranks officially down to 430. Former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) resigned following the foreign aid votes over the weekend.

The Republican Jewish Coalition is backing the primary challenger to Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), a rare move into a competitive primary for the group.

The RJC plans to announce their endorsement of John McGuire, a state senator running against Good, after the House Freedom Caucus chair recently voted against Israel aid, according to a press release first provided to POLITICO.

“If you don’t stand with the Jewish community, if you don’t stand with Israel, Republican or Democrat, the RJC will work to defeat you,” RJC CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement.

Brooks argued McGuire, meanwhile, has proven his commitment to Israel.

Good, a conservative spending hawk, opposed all the recent aid bills that came to the floor, which included funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

For RJC, Good has taken one too many votes against Israel aid.

“For the pro-Israel community, this is not the first time concerns have been raised about Rep. Bob Good’s undermining of U.S. support for Israel: Good also voted against passage of an Israel aid bill in February, and he opposed a defense authorization bill that included important funding for joint U.S.-Israel defense programs, including Iron Dome,” Brooks added in his statement.

In the past, RJC has only waded into a handful of other races, including against former Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) as well as GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia and Thomas Massie in Kentucky.

The mid-June primary between Good and McGuire has many more House members — and related outside groups — getting involved than usual.

Good also was among the eight House Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, leading allies of the former speaker to back McGuire. Good, meanwhile, continues to get support from certain Freedom Caucus members and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the charge to oust McCarthy.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) criticized the Biden administration's decision to put millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness outside the reach of oil drilling and critical mineral mining, likening the moves to “national security suicide.”

“Well, it's lawless. He doesn't have the authority to do it. ... It's, as I say, national security suicide,” Sullivan said Sunday during an interview on CBS' “Face the Nation.”

Alaska has long been at odds with the federal government over the use and protection of its enormous natural resources, particularly when a Democrat is in the White House.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management on Friday officially recommended against building the Ambler Road — a proposed 211 mile-long roadway that would have expanded mining operations into an undeveloped part of the state — a recommendation that effectively kills the project and puts zinc and copper deposits out of reach.

Interior also issued a final rule that will remove the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean, 11 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and nearly 3 million acres of federal waters off the Alaska coast from consideration for new oil and gas leasing.

The decision by the Interior Department reaped praise from environmental and conservation groups, as well as some some native tribes — but not all, Sullivan said Sunday.

“When this president on Friday with [Interior] Secretary [Deb] Haaland announced that they did this because the Alaska Native, the indigenous people on the North Slope of Alaska, asked them to, they wanted them to, the leaders of the North Slope of Alaska were unanimous in opposition to this,” Sullivan said.

But other local tribes lauded the Biden administration’s decision and said the Trump administration did not consult with them before approving the project.

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The tens of billions of dollars in long-stalled Ukraine aid approved by the House on Saturday will give his country “a chance at victory,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.

“I think this support will really strengthen the armed forces of Ukraine, and we will have a chance for victory,” Zelenskyy said through a translator during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Despite significant opposition from some conservatives, the House voted 311-112 on Saturday to approve a bill that would send $60.8 billion to Ukraine. More than $23 billion of which would be used to replenish weapons and stocks provided by the U.S; $13.8 billion that would cover costs for advanced weapons systems. The bill heads to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer teed it up for a Tuesday vote.

Zelenskyy’s comments come after he warned last week that no more aid from the U.S. would mean a Russian victory in the war that recently entered its third year.

“I can tell you, frankly, without this support, we will have no chance of winning,” Zelenskyy said during an interview on PBS NewsHour last week.

In celebrating the funding Sunday, Zelenskyy also emphasized Ukraine’s need for the aid to "end up in tangible weapon systems," including long-range missiles and air defense.

“We need long-range weapons to not lose people on the frontlines,” Zelenskyy said. Ukraine, Zelenskyy acknowledged, has suffered losses "in several directions" in recent months, particularly in the eastern part of the country.

"And that's why we need to actually have the weapon systems. When we get it, when we have it in our arms, then we do have the chance to take this initiative and to move ahead and to protect Ukraine," he added.

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RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 18 people, including 14 children, health officials said Sunday, as the United States was on track to approve billions of dollars of additional military aid to its close ally.

Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has sought refuge from fighting elsewhere. It has also vowed to expand its ground offensive to the city on the border with Egypt despite international calls for restraint, including from the U.S.

The House of Representatives approved a $26 billion aid package on Saturday that includes around $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

The first strike killed a man, his wife and their 3-year-old child, according to the nearby Kuwaiti Hospital, which received the bodies. The woman was pregnant and the doctors managed to save the baby, the hospital said.

The second strike killed 13 children and two women, all from the same family, according to hospital records. An airstrike in Rafah the night before killed nine people, including six children.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, devastated Gaza’s two largest cities and left a swath of destruction across the territory. Around 80% of the population have fled their homes to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave, which experts say is on the brink of famine.

The conflict, now in its seventh month, has sparked regional unrest pitting Israel and the U.S. against Iran and allied militant groups across the Middle East. Israel and Iran traded fire directly earlier this month, raising fears of all-out war between the longtime foes.

Tensions have also spiked in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli troops killed two Palestinians who the military says attacked a checkpoint with a knife and a gun near the southern West Bank town of Hebron early Sunday. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the two killed were 18 and 19 years old, from the same family. No Israeli forces were wounded, the army said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service meanwhile said it has recovered a total of 14 bodies from an Israeli raid in the Nur Shams urban refugee camp in the West Bank that began late Thursday. Those killed include three militants from the Islamic Jihad group and a 15-year-old boy. The military says it killed 10 militants in the camp and arrested eight suspects. Nine Israeli soldiers and officers were wounded.

In a separate incident in the West Bank, an Israeli man was wounded in an explosion Sunday, the Magen David Adom rescue service said. A video circulating online shows a man approaching a Palestinian flag that had been planted in a field. When he kicks it, it appears to trigger an explosive device.

At least 469 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have been killed during Israeli military arrest raids, which often trigger gunbattles, or in violent protests.

The war in Gaza was sparked by an unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which Hamas and other militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Israel says militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to call for new elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a deal with Hamas to release the hostages. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed and all the hostages are returned.

The war has killed at least 34,049 Palestinians and wounded another 76,901, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says at least two-thirds have been children and women. It also says the real toll is likely higher as many bodies are stuck beneath the rubble left by airstrikes or are in areas that are unreachable for medics.

Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants fight in dense, residential neighborhoods, but the military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children. The military says it has killed over 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.

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Speaker Mike Johnson ultimately succeeded in passing foreign aid Saturday, after months of fierce infighting over sending additional funds to Ukraine.

Whether he can survive a looming effort to boot him from the speakership still remains to be seen.

Johnson had plowed ahead with the votes to send money to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan despite rising conservative anger — passing every part of the foreign aid plan with widespread Democratic help. Some Republicans are openly entertaining the idea of backing the ouster threat led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), but those already backing the effort opted to wait on triggering the vote. Instead, they indicated members should go back home and hear from their constituents.

That could go two ways for Johnson. Tempers could cool as lawmakers return to their districts for a week and focus on their constituents and reelection bids. Or members, particularly in deep-red districts, hear more from an angry base — prompting more members to entertain action against Johnson.

Greene and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, the second Republican to back ousting Johnson, are betting it’s the latter. And they reiterated their promises on Saturday that Johnson will ultimately face a choice: resign or face a referendum.

“The pressure is already building,” Massie said after the slew of votes Saturday. “It's going to be inevitable, especially now that he's chosen his path with the Democrats. Like once you go there, it's hard to go back.”

Despite the intense fury among conservatives, some say they still won’t support the so-called motion to vacate. But if Johnson gets booted and goes for the gavel again, or tries to run to lead the GOP again next term, they said they wouldn’t support his bid.

“I'm so furious,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who took particular issue with House Democrats waving Ukrainian flags on the floor as that aid bill passed. “This whole bill package is an absolute sham and disgusting, and I blame Speaker Mike Johnson for that bill even being on the floor.”

“I will never support Speaker Mike Johnson as speaker again. That's for certain,” she added.

The vote on Ukraine became so contentious that some Republicans, also taking umbrage with the Ukraine flags on the House floor, started to boo them. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) ran up to a microphone to tell her colleagues across the aisle: “Put those damn flags away.”

In a further sign of rising tensions, lawmakers lingered in the chamber after votes on the foreign aid package closed — anxious to see if Greene or Massie would move to trigger an attempt to oust Johnson or force other protest votes. Members of the House Freedom Caucus also huddled in the center of the chamber following the vote, but ultimately did not call for additional votes.

Johnson, meanwhile, defended his strategy on the foreign funding package after the votes, once again brushing off the threat from members of his right flank to try to strip him of his gavel.

“I don’t walk around this building being worried about motion to vacate. I have to do my job. We did. I’ve done here what I’ve believed to be the right thing,” Johnson said. “You do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may.”

And other GOP colleagues praised Johnson’s bravery, indicating they hope Democrats will show him some goodwill — meaning, help protect his speakership — for ignoring his conservative critics and passing foreign aid.

“I'm so proud of Mike Johnson for being brave and for allowing us to vote on some really important issues today. So I would hope that the Democrats will continue to do the right thing,” said centrist Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.). “We've seen him come a long way.”

“To me, it is a true profile in courage to put the interests of the nation above his own — himself and his career,” said Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas), whose bill was among those that passed Saturday. “It was a gutsy call, but he knew it was the right thing. My stock in him went way up.”

Still, Johnson is in a precarious position. If Greene triggers a vote, he will need Democrats to protect him. And even if they do, the GOP rebels could try to oust him multiple times, forcing the minority party to decide if they would continue to save him.

House Democrats didn’t discuss the motion to vacate during their caucus meeting before the vote Saturday, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has indicated they’d meet as a party to discuss a course of action if it comes up. But many Democrats are likely to back Johnson against the ouster threat now that the foreign aid package has sailed through the House.

“I think [Greene] is a paper tiger,” quipped Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.).

“We did the right thing today and we did it together,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). “That’s a good sign for going forward if we continue to do that. We can't allow a small, willful, nihilistic group to impede the ability of the House of Representatives to do business.”

Other House Republicans, meanwhile, said they aren’t holding their breath on Democratic assistance. They feel they’ve seen this film before with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“I've kind of given up on those guys … seems like they're willing to help the country as long as it doesn't help the Republicans,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.).

But Johnson will have to rely on at least some Democratic votes, especially with the imminent departure of Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who was slated to resign from Congress on Friday but opted to stay a day later to vote on the foreign aid bills. With Gallagher gone, Johnson can only afford to lose one of his own members on an ouster vote before needing help across the aisle.

Several Republicans haven’t yet said how they would handle such a vote, meaning that the conservative band of rebels could grow before Greene brings up her resolution.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who flirted with trying to oust Johnson earlier this year, declined to say how he would handle an ejection attempt, but didn’t pull punches on Johnson’s handling of the foreign aid package.

“The votes today were a disaster,” he said. “There are a lot of people around the country who are very frustrated with what transpired this week.”

Nicholas Wu and Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.

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The House passed a bill to provide $26.3 billion in assistance to Israel, kicking the legislation across the Capitol nearly 10 weeks after the Senate sent over a measure with nearly identical aid to the U.S. ally.

The measure passed 366-58 and will automatically get bundled with three other bills. Although the House is voting on each measure individually, the Senate will receive them as a single package that includes aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, along with new sanctions, a TikTok ban and U.S. power to freeze Russian assets.

Because House Republican division over assisting Ukraine has snagged aid to Israel, it has taken Congress more than six months to move ahead on the aid following Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people.

The House approved tens of billions of dollars in long-stalled aid to Ukraine on Saturday in a move that could further stoke a push to remove Speaker Mike Johnson.

The lower chamber passed the measure in a 311-112 vote, with one member voting present, overriding staunch conservative opposition to the funding. The Biden administration has stressed that, without the assistance, Ukraine could lose in its defense against Russia by the end of the year.

The bill would provide $60.8 billion for Ukraine, more than $23 billion of which would be used to replenish weapons and stocks provided by the U.S. The measure also includes $13.8 billion for advanced weapons systems and $10 billion in repayable economic assistance that likely won't be repaid.

The House passed a measure Saturday that aims to force a sale of TikTok and seize frozen Russian assets to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction, as well as impose sanctions and other punitive measures against Russia, China and Iran.

The bill, filled with GOP policy sweeteners, was included in Speaker Mike Johnson’s foreign aid funding package as a way to bolster Republican support for tens of billions of dollars in long-delayed aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. The House approved the measure in an overwhelming 360-58 vote.

The Senate extended an expiring foreign surveillance law early Saturday morning, an last-minute breakthrough that avoided a weekend expiration of a key program.

The Senate voted just after midnight to pass the bill, 60-34. It needed 60 votes.

The legislation, which reauthorizes Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, has already passed the House. It now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature after a prolonged congressional battle over access to Americans’ information.

“We have good news for national security,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as he announced the deal to vote on the extension and avoid a lapse. “Allowing FISA to expire would have been dangerous."

Senate leaders urgently warned senators not to go over the midnight authority deadline as the chamber haggled over amendments, warning it would endanger national security and risk a loss of authority in the program which terrorists could exploit. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell put the choice in stark terms on Friday morning, saying the choice before the Senate amounted to: “Pass the House reform bill, or give free rein to foreign intelligence operatives and terrorists to target America.”

Similarly, the Biden administration worried that a lapse would mean private companies could fight data collection practices. Though some members argued the law could briefly expire with little consequence, that scenario isn’t “anything to be trifled with. So any temporary lapse is serious,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

After it passed, Attorney General Merrick Garland called the law "indispensable" for national security.

In typical Senate fashion, the chamber took it right up to the brink of the deadline as senators argued over amendments. Several different bipartisan coalitions sought to require warrants to access the incidental collection of Americans’ communications and scuttle a provision changing which data providers would have to participate in the program.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), whose warrant amendment drew particular opposition from the Biden administration, said the Intelligence Community “has been against any change” in the 702 program. Indeed, the Senate defeated Durbin’s amendment and others, in part because changing the bill at this late stage would require the bill to go back to the House and cause a shutdown of the law.

While Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he was “sympathetic” to some of the amendments, it was too late to try and rewrite the bill when up against such a tight timeline. All of the six proposed alterations failed on Friday evening.

Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.

Mike Johnson is drawing closer to a career-defining choice for a Republican speaker — whether to rely on Democratic help to stay in the job.

With three Republicans endorsing a motion to terminate his leadership, Johnson will need Democratic support to survive if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) follows through on her threat to force a vote on his removal. And more conservatives could follow, enraged by Johnson’s strategy on his foreign aid package.

But if he can weather this storm, even his critics say he may be able to keep his gavel the rest of the term.

“This is one of the last big, crucial votes that we're going to take. And we've known that for a long time. I think that's why it's so disappointing for so many people,” said Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), one of the conservatives who voted to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“But I think there's a chance, if he gets through this one, that he might just make it all the way” to November, Crane added of Johnson, whom he hasn’t ruled out voting to oust. “Nothing that I'm telling you I haven't said to his face."

It seems to be a gamble Johnson is prepared to take, with the House set to vote Saturday on long-stalled Ukraine aid. And while he has taken proverbial beatings over government funding and spy powers legislation, hardliner fury has clearly reached new peaks this time. He’s repeatedly insisted that he’s not considering Greene’s pending motion to oust him, which Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) have now endorsed, and vowed he won’t bend to their demands that he resign.

Still, once that vote is forced, Johnson faces an impossible decision. He could rely on Democratic votes to save his gavel, but that would severely undermine him in the eyes of not just conservatives, but the GOP base. And hardliners have signaled they might keep seeking votes to boot him if they fail the first time, meaning he could be forced to repeatedly rely on President Joe Biden’s party — assuming they're willing to help him more than once.

But if Johnson resigns or is ultimately ousted, it plunges the House back into speaker-less chaos with no clear alternative, months before a major election. And while Democrats have signaled that they will help save him if there is a formal referendum on his speakership, that is exactly the type of bipartisan rescue mission that many Republicans predicted would have ultimately doomed McCarthy, if eight Republicans hadn’t successfully voted him out on the first try.

Except that theory was never tested.

Johnson "would probably get the Democrats to save him, but I don’t know if that’s a permanent condition,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the charge in ousting McCarthy.

Gaetz added that while he doesn’t support booting the speaker, it “would be a real challenge” for him to stay in such a scenario.

There's one other point working in Johnson's favor: A growing number of his own members don’t believe he’ll be in the GOP’s top spot come next year anyway, as POLITICO first reported, meaning some of his critics are content to wait.

“Everybody is sort of short-term right now,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said, asked if Democrats helping Johnson on a so-called motion to vacate was politically dangerous for the speaker.

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), chair of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, made a similar remark to a gaggle of House reporters on the Capitol steps Friday, remarking that “we’re going to have a contest in November for speaker.”

Indeed, most House Republicans have no appetite for another chaotic speaker fight before they have to pick their leadership team for next year, which will happen after Election Day. They already witnessed eight of their own lock arms with Democrats to oust McCarthy last fall, against the broader party's preference, miring their conference in bitter infighting that they’ve struggled to stop even months later.

“I’m kind of sick to my stomach,” said centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who acknowledged he didn’t know if it was tenable for Johnson to stay with help from Democrats. “It just takes one or two people to throw the whole team under the bus.”

Ousting Johnson now, Republicans like Bacon warn, would only remind voters of the House GOP's general mess and hurt their chances of keeping the majority as they try to win another term in power. Plus, they see further displays of disarray as badly distracting from former President Donald Trump’s campaign to return to office.

More fighting over the speakership would also turbo-charge existing grievances within the badly divided conference. Johnson is under pressure from some of his members, including multiple Biden-district Republicans, to exact retribution against hardliners who have made it next to impossible to open structured debate on bills without the help of Democrats.

Quite a few Republicans insisted in the months after McCarthy’s ouster that their colleagues would not repeat any kamikaze-style attempt to remove a speaker — but now those members are tempering their doubts.

Greene has said that she's waited to trigger an ouster vote for weeks in order to give colleagues room to figure out a succession plan. Any aspiring successor to Johnson, however, can't publicly entertain taking the gavel without hurting themselves ahead of another leadership fight in November — and the position doesn't look particularly appealing right now. Not to mention that conservatives acknowledge firing Johnson is unlikely to result in a speaker who is any more closely aligned with them.

“In this situation, I have a hard time envisioning how things get better taking Mike out,” said Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), a Freedom Caucus member.

Still, more and more Republicans are noticing subtle jockeying taking place ahead of the next opportunity to seek the top spot, while Johnson tries to stay afloat. Each member of his leadership team is facing scrutiny, like when Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) split from the speaker during a recent surveillance fight. Now members are watching to see who backs up Johnson on Saturday in support of Ukraine aid.

“Are they going to come out [against Johnson] seven months early, with the job not even open? No. They are going to do what they need to do. … You don’t have to declare ‘I want to be speaker’ to talk and try to negotiate,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).

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Conservatives have made it abundantly clear they detest Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to work with Democrats. To other Republicans, it’s a necessary evil — specifically because of those hardliner colleagues.

Many centrist Republicans said on Friday that Johnson has been left with no other choice, given threats to his speakership and unwieldy demands for border security language that could never pass the Democratic-led Senate and President Joe Biden.

“We're asking the impossible,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said in an interview. “And that's not fair to Mike Johnson. It wasn't fair to Kevin McCarthy. It's not fair to anybody.”

“We've got a group of members who refuse to allow the floor to function. And, obviously, the speaker’s to be commended for finding a way forward,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) in an interview. “We can worry about the political crap later.”

To be sure, Johnson’s now broken nearly every congressional norm in his reliance on Democrats to tee up a package of foreign aid to benefit Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, among other priorities. More Democrats (165) than Republicans (151) supported the rule, a stunning development for longtime Hill watchers. (More on that below.)

But it was a common refrain from the conference’s governing wing: Conservatives gave the speaker no viable alternative — especially now that Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) are explicitly threatening his gavel.

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said Johnson’s been challenged like no speaker before him.

“Mike Johnson deserves better support, but I for one am just very, very proud of what we would all refer to as a profile in courage in the face of these kinds of threats,” he said.

Still, that’s not to say Johnson won’t face consequences for the severe break, as conservatives have just started to air their fury. Most lawmakers were unwilling to speculate how that would affect the speaker long term.

“It never helps when we pass something that’s not conservative,” Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, told us.

“Mike Johnson is a friend of mine. He's a brother in Christ. Love him to death. I don't agree with his play calls,” said Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), one of the more mild criticisms we’ve heard about Johnson recently.

It’s not a unanimous position, though. Freedom Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), for example, supported the rule.

And some centrists went even further. They didn’t just blame conservatives for forcing Johnson’s hand — they explicitly said any sort of deal or extra power that went to Democrats from now on was hardliners’ fault.

“It’s not good enough that they can just vote no,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who represents a swing seat carried by Biden. “It’s like they have to force all the rest of us to vote a certain way or they will take the ship down.”

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

As the House nears a Saturday vote on a foreign aid plan that's driven a wedge within the fractious GOP, a Democratic worry is persisting: That they, and President Joe Biden, will pay a hefty price with their base if they don't change their approach to Israel aid.

The recent back-and-forth of strikes between Israel and Iran, while it hiked pressure on Republicans to take up the foreign aid package, didn't exactly dissuade progressives from their leeriness of an unconditional extension of U.S. assistance for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As some Democrats see it, they have a moral obligation to do more for Palestinians — and will suffer politically with young and Muslim voters this fall if they don't handle the Gaza war differently.

Take the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York. He confirmed Friday that he still has not signed off on an $18 billion F-15 fighter jet sale to Israel in response to a Biden administration request that typically goes to the top members in both parties on foreign aid panels. While Meeks said he is still doing his due diligence on the F-15 deal, he also said Black voters in his district are sensitive to the treatment of Palestinians.

“The Black community, in my estimation, is always looking at — wanting to — make sure that you help those who have trouble helping themselves,” said Meeks, historically an Israel supporter, in an interview prior to the Iranian strike.

“They basically want to see a situation where folks can live side by side, and don't understand why you don't have a two-state solution," he added. "I’m hearing that over and over again, because they think that’s fair.”

The House is likely to pass its Israel aid package on Saturday easily, given the level of GOP support, but the Democratic vote count will be closely watched by the administration and outside-group supporters of the Israeli government. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and an advocate for separate votes on Ukraine and Israel aid, is among those preparing to vote no.

She readily described Democrats' approach to Israel as a "vulnerability," adding that the party performed well in 2020 "because we were thoughtful and intentional about putting together a coalition that could hold together. And that coalition depended on yes, Muslim and Arab and Palestinian votes — but also young people in general, Black folks, labor unions. It's not just one small group of people that have a concern about what's happening in Gaza.”

One recent March poll from Gallup found Biden with a 27 percent approval rating for his handling of the Middle East conflict. Just 47 percent of Democrats said they backed the president’s handling of the situation.

Many progressives acknowledge the need for the U.S. to support Israel against attacks from Hamas terrorists and Iran, but also question sending unconditioned aid amid the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza and refusal by the Netanyahu government to let in adequate humanitarian aid.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), said that Iran’s attack on Israel hasn't changed his previous calls for a rethinking of U.S. strategy toward Israel.

"I am deeply troubled by what may come next in Gaza. Already the civilian death toll is unbelievably high," McGovern said. He later indicated that he plans to vote against the Israel aid bill, describing Netanyahu as "out of control and actually undercutting Israel security.”

It’s not just liberals sounding the electoral alarm, though. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a moderate House member running for an open Senate seat, said voters skeptical of unconditional Israel aid cannot be ignored, adding that she believes the Biden team is aware of the challenge.

"Look, 13 percent of primary voters voted ‘uncommitted’ in our primary, so it's definitely an issue,” she said. “It’s incumbent on anyone running, including myself, to make the case to those uncommitted voters that we want them to vote Democratic and not for Donald Trump."

Her swing-state colleague, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), agreed.

“The risks are there — that's for sure,” Kildee, who’s retiring after this Congress, said in an interview.

Republicans have been unwavering in support for Israel and Netanyahu even amid the mounting civilian toll and as the conflict stretches beyond the six-month mark — even more stridently following the Iranian attack. Most slammed Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s lengthy floor address calling for new elections in the key U.S. ally, though the Democratic leader strongly condemned the latest Iranian attack.

To be sure, not all Democrats agree that Biden is failing. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said Biden is doing “a great job” on Israel and that “fringies” ought to factor in that hurting Biden at the polls helps Trump — whose handling of Israel policy would displease them more.

“Anyone that now is trying to argue for ‘uncommitted’ or abandon Biden, if you’re going to play with that fire you’re going to own that burn,” he said. “Guess what? If Trump wins, then you can celebrate the Muslim ban version 2.0. There’s so much at stake right now, so much.”

Connor O'Brien and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

It’s not often the Senate whip finds himself at odds with his own party’s administration, yet the controversial surveillance bill has prompted that exact split — with only hours left until the law expires.

The Biden administration is moving to crush an amendment from Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that would prohibit access to American communications without a warrant. Durbin said this week that he will not be able to support reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702 program, which allows warrantless surveillance of foreign targets, without changes. The program incidentally sweeps up information from Americans, which has worried privacy advocates in both parties for years.

Durbin’s amendment continues the long-running debate in the House, which discussed before passing the bill last week whether to require a warrant for accessing American communications. Lawmakers in that chamber barely defeated a similar amendment, with Speaker Mike Johnson providing the decisive vote to block it. The intelligence community has repeatedly argued that increasing warrant requirements could imperil national security.

No stranger to skepticism of surveillance programs, Durbin said his amendment would be “narrower” because it focuses on a smaller number of situations. He estimated on Friday afternoon that it would result in "80 requests for warrants in a month out of millions of inquiries. That doesn't sound like a crippling amendment to me."

"Any change that's suggested is always treated by every administration the same way: It's the end of the 702 program," Durbin said. "We've found a way to make it as reasonable as possible and still they think it's too much."

The amendment from the Illinois Democrat and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) would need just a simple majority to get adopted. Cramer said the high probability that several amendments might pass is holding up a deal to speed up votes and consider amendments.

"What really offends me is that they don't let us vote on anything that might pass," Cramer said of the impasse. "The big excuse that they use is, if we pass something with an amendment it has to go back to the House and then it's midnight tonight and the world ends."

Amending the measure is a significant concern for leadership, since changing the surveillance bill would mean sending it back to an uncertain fate in the House and almost certainly result in a program lapse. So the administration is moving swiftly to stop Durbin and Cramer's amendment was well as a bipartisan amendment stripping language that changes which data providers are subject to the program.

In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen called Durbin’s amendment a “flat-out prohibition on our ability to use U.S. person queries to disrupt threats and protect Americans."

“It is also not a ‘compromise.’ It’s an extreme proposal that cripples the value of Section 702, especially in protecting Americans from lethal plotting, hacking, recruitment as spies, and more,” Olsen said.

The administration dispatched National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Capitol Hill to urge quick passage of the reauthorization. And several other top officials, such as Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director Bill Burns and Attorney General Merrick Garland, are talking to senators.

As of Friday afternoon, the Senate had not yet clinched a deal to vote on the legislation before that expiration, a pact which will require agreement from all 100 senators. Durbin's amendment is just one of several that may get a vote Friday.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said an amendment agreement is "going extraordinarily slowly" and Senate Republicans discussed on Friday how important it was to avoid even a brief lapse of the program.

Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.

A third Republican is now on board for ousting Speaker Mike Johnson: Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar.

The conservative signed on to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) proposal to remove Johnson on Friday after Democrats provided the necessary votes to start debate on a multi-part foreign aid plan, infuriating conservatives.

Gosar follows Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in supporting Greene, though it's still not clear when she might force a vote on toppling Johnson. If she does, the speaker will need Democrats to help him keep the gavel — a precarious position for a GOP leader.

In a press release explaining his position, Gosar noted his opposition to sending more money to Ukraine while arguing there’s still a high level of illegal crossings on the southern border that he likened to an “invasion.”

“Rather than spending the resources to secure our southern border and combating the invasion of 11 million illegals and despite repeated promises there would be no additional money going to Ukraine without first securing our border, the United States House of Representatives, under the direction of the Speaker, is on the verge of sending another $61 billion to further draw America into an endless and purposeless war in Ukraine,” Gosar wrote. “I have added my name in support of the motion to vacate the Speaker. Our border cannot be an afterthought.”

Gosar was sitting next to Greene on the House floor during the procedural vote to advance foreign aid, which infuriated Johnson’s right flank.

Other Republicans like Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) have signaled they may be open to backing the ouster effort, potentially doubling down on the type of House-busting vote that was unprecedented before this Congress.

Greene has not said when she plans to pull the trigger on the motion to boot Johnson, but some of her colleagues believe she is waiting for a bigger group to rally around her efforts.

Even if only three Republicans opt to terminate his speakership, Johnson would need Democratic support to keep his gavel if the vote happens anytime soon, given his incredibly narrow margin. That help looks possible, after he greenlit Ukraine aid coming to the House floor.

Centrist Democrats, who were eager to see the foreign aid package pass a series of procedural hurdles — with a passage vote scheduled Saturday — have previously said they would be open to discussions about saving Johnson.

"I would be one of the first to raise my hand and say that I want to be part of that conversation, to see if we can really govern together or be in a position where he's able to govern and bring those bipartisan bills,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said in an interview. “I have said over and over that bringing us bipartisan bills is such a huge part of this role as speaker right now, and that those bills will pass. We just need them.”

That could significantly hurt him in other ways. Some Republicans have already warned that leaning on Democrats for survival is untenable — and conservatives could continue pushing votes to boot Johnson absent a rules change.

Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.

The House officially opened debate Friday on Speaker Mike Johnson’s multi-part foreign aid plan after Democrats stepped in to help overcome conservative defections.

The House voted 316-94 to bring up the four-bill package, which includes aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, as well as GOP policy sweeteners. But underscoring deep intraparty frustrations with Johnson’s strategy, 55 Republicans voted against advancing the package — a once unheard-of GOP rebellion that has grown more common given their single-digit margin.

Normally that would be enough to scuttle Johnson’s plan, but 165 Democrats voted to bring up the bills. It’s the first time they’ve done so during Johnson’s speakership — an alliance that is likely to fuel calls from his most vocal critics to strip him of his gavel.

The House is now slated to vote on the bills early Saturday afternoon, and Johnson will once again need substantial help from Democrats to get them over to the Senate. Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Friday that he plans to support the package, while Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) declined to state his position when asked.

“I’m pleased that we were able to come to a bipartisan agreement,” said House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.). He added: “It’s working out the way the speaker wanted it to, which is that every member is free to vote their conscience … in a way they usually aren’t.”

The House structured the package so as to ease its consideration in the Senate, requiring less time and procedural votes to pass the upper chamber. While senators are scheduled to be out of Washington next week, there’s ongoing discussion about canceling that recess to take up the House plan if it passes.

Democrats waited to back the rule Friday morning until they got a signal from their leadership. They trickled into the chamber Friday morning and mostly held back their votes on the question of whether to start debate. But the floodgates opened when party leaders walked up to the dais and turned in their green voting cards, indicating they would vote yes.

"House Democrats have once again cleared the way for legislation that is important to the American people to be processed and considered on the House floor for an up or down vote," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters after the vote.

The procedural victory for Johnson comes after the Rules Committee signed off on the structure of debate close to midnight on Thursday after a marathon meeting. Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voted against teeing up the bills for the floor, but Democrats joined the remaining Republicans on the panel to advance the bills out of committee — an unusual step for the minority party in the House.

“It’s not satisfactory,” said Rules Chair Michael Burgess (R-Texas), noting that Republicans should have been able to provide the votes for the rule on their own.

Burgess said it’s up to the speaker as to whether the three conservatives should remain on the committee and continue to ensnare GOP legislation.

Three of the bills largely mirror the Senate-passed $95 billion foreign aid package, which previously stalled out in the lower chamber.

The Israel aid measure would provide more than $26 billion for the country. That includes $4 billion to replenish the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems and about $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid.

The Ukraine aid bill would provide $60.8 billion to assist in the ongoing war against the Russian invasion. The bill includes about $10 billion in repayable economic assistance – with the expectation that the money likely won’t be repaid, doing little to placate conservative Ukraine aid critics.

The third bill includes more than $8 billion in Indo-Pacific assistance, while the fourth would enact a host of policy provisions, including revised legislation that would force the divestiture of TikTok by its Beijing-based parent company.

Olivia Beavers, Burgess Everett and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.