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March 13, 2024 06:30 AM
Mike Johnson
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Congress
Mike Johnson’s Plan for Ukraine Is Secret. Or It Doesn’t Exist.
House Speaker Mike Johnson still hasn’t explained his strategy for getting aid to Ukraine — and at this point, it’s not clear if he even has one.

“He has not spoken to the conference about it,” House Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, told NOTUS on Tuesday.

It has been a month since the Senate passed a $95 billion bill to restock American weapons and assist Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Since then, rank-and-file members have floated multiple competing strategies in the House on approaching one of the most high-profile issues Congress faces. At this point, all Republicans do know is that Johnson opposes the Senate bill and has made public comments supportive of Ukraine.

Read more from NOTUS’ Haley Byrd Wilt.

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2024 Election
Robin Vos
Andy Manis/AP
Even Trump’s Biggest Fans in Congress Are Tired of This One 2020 Revenge Campaign
Wisconsin Republicans in Congress want conservative activists in their home state to stop wasting time on ousting state House leader Robin Vos. “Every minute that someone spends trying to recall Robin Vos is a minute they can’t spend trying to get President Trump reelected,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6 in support of Trump.

“If they’re true Republicans and want to get more Republicans elected, then they should be working to help in that effort. Not recall the speaker,” said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald.

The group Recall Vos said it filed signatures from more than 10,000 voters this week targeting the veteran state legislator for refusing to overturn the 2020 election results. The signatures remain under review.

Read more from NOTUS’ Nuha Dolby.
New on NOTUS

Congress: TikTok Is Creating a Very Rare Split Between Trump and Conservatives. Republican allies say they understand Donald Trump’s concerns about a proposed bill to ban the social media app in the U.S. They just don’t all plan to vote his way.

From the Notebook
Ken Buck
Alex Brandon/AP
Ken Buck on Leaving Congress Early
Retiring Rep. Ken Buck’s decision to step down early next week rather than serve out his term will trigger a special election and add more unpredictability to the race to represent his district.

When asked if he considered how the move would affect Rep. Lauren Boebert, the far-right Republican running in his district, Buck texted NOTUS’ Haley Byrd Wilt: “No, I didn’t consider that.”

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