Democrats eye long-shot discharge petition for Ukraine aid

Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) rejection of a Senate-passed foreign aid package has fueled fresh talk among House Democrats that their last best chance of getting military funding to Ukraine might be the longest shot of all: an obscure procedural tool, known as a discharge petition, to circumvent the GOP blockade.

Such petitions are rarely successful — the last one to work occurred almost a decade ago — but the deteriorating condition of Ukraine’s military forces has triggered a new urgency among Kyiv’s allies on Capitol Hill, who are racing to get the assistance passed by any means necessary.

“The prospects of a discharge petition are not great. But it is a sort of act of last resort, and it’s available to us, and it is a mechanism, and it has been used sparingly in the past,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said. “And this is so important I wouldn’t rule that out if that’s what we have to do.”

The discharge petition is hardly the preferred route for Ukraine’s Democratic allies. Rather, they’re urging Johnson to change his tune and bring the Senate bill to the floor, where it would likely pass with a big bipartisan vote. 

Connolly, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, predicted Tuesday that the Senate package would win more than 300 votes if it comes to the floor — a forecast echoed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

“It’s not too much to ask … that we get an up-or-down vote and let the House of Representatives actually work its will, as opposed to allowing Donald Trump [to] work his will and block our national security priorities,” Jeffries said.  

But Johnson threw cold water on that possibility Monday night, saying “the Senate has failed to meet the moment” by excluding border security provisions in the national security package. He said “the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters.”

The Speaker emphasized his stance Tuesday.

“National security begins with border security,” Johnson told reporters. “We have said that all along. That has been my comment since late October, it is my comment today.”

The Speaker’s entrenched opposition to the Senate bill has prompted Democrats to begin exploring alternative strategies for getting Ukraine aid to President Biden’s desk, although Jeffries said they haven’t finalized any decisions.  

“All options are on the table,” he said. “We’re going to utilize every available legislative tool.”

Even before Johnson announced his formal rejection of the Senate bill, some Democrats had been in talks about the possibility of tapping a discharge petition to bypass the Speaker’s expected opposition and bring the Ukraine aid to the floor.

“We’ve had those conversations before, but they will begin to happen,” Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said last week. “Now that we’ve vectored our way down to ‘either you’re abandoning Ukraine or you’re not,’ there’s no sort of other — forgive me — bullshit [option]. No, this is it. You’re either in or you’re out.” 

The foundation to move forward on Ukraine aid is there — but the road ahead is steep.

Democrats have a “ripe” discharge petition from last year’s debt limit showdown that has 213 signatures — five shy of the 218 majority needed to force legislation to the floor. They could pick up another supporter if former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) wins Tuesday’s special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District to replace former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was expelled in December.

Some progressives, however, will likely remove their names from the petition in protest of the Senate bill allocating $14 billion in security assistance to Israel without any conditions, meaning more GOP signatures will be needed to reach the majority threshold.

But signing a discharge petition while in the majority is among the greatest betrayals a lawmaker can show to leadership, meaning garnering enough GOP support will be a heavy lift for Democrats — a dynamic they readily acknowledge.

“It’s very, very difficult, if you’re in the majority, to sign a discharge petition, because it has other implications, and it’s considered a real disloyal act in your caucus,” Connolly said. “So there’s real risk in doing that.” 

Some Republicans are already balking at the effort.

Rep. Don Bacon (R), a Nebraska moderate, said Democrats are already reaching out to him about endorsing a discharge petition, but he’s refused — for now — to allow the policy debate more time to play out.

Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), who represents a district Biden won in 2020, was more emphatic, telling The Hill he has “zero appetite for a discharge petition.”

One moderate GOP lawmaker told The Hill they are unlikely to support the discharge petition push, arguing that there is not a large desire in the conference to back the effort.

“We have to secure the border and support our allies — but right now there isn’t much appetite for it,” the lawmaker said in a text message.

Republican leadership is also brushing aside the prospect of being steamrolled by Democrats. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told Fox News Business on Tuesday, “I find that hard to believe that that is a valid option.”

But as the chatter about a discharge petition grows louder, some Republicans are warning their colleagues against taking the extraordinary step.

“I don’t think Republicans will do that. If they do it, they’ll expose to the American people who they are,” said Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), the chair of the House Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a former chair of the conservative group, had a more succinct message for Republicans who may be considering signing a discharge petition: “Don’t.”

The Ukraine issue is squeezing Johnson, who says he supports more aid for Kyiv but is treading carefully in his restive conference. 

On one side are former President Trump and his closest conservative allies in the House, who are pushing to sink the Senate package, citing the absence of border security provisions and the impact on the federal debt. On the other are Ukraine supporters in both parties, who are pushing Johnson to at the very least bring the package to the floor to allow the House to vote its will. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday took the rare step of criticizing Johnson for keeping the bill off the floor, urging the Speaker to reconsider. 

“We’ve heard all kinds of rumors about whether the House supports Ukraine or doesn’t. It seems to me that the easy way to solve that would be to vote,” McConnell told Politico in an interview. “And I hope the Speaker will find a way to allow the House to work its will on the issue of Ukraine aid and the other parts of the bill, as well.”

A short time later, President Biden joined that pressure campaign. 

 “History is watching,” he said in a televised address from the White House.