With a vote by the House of Representatives now likely to be held on Saturday, Republican House members insisted to Newsmax that the long-debated U.S. aid package to Ukraine should pass resoundingly.
They also said Speaker Mike Johnson will survive any effort to dethrone him.
Former President Trump has made clear privately to several members that he strongly opposes efforts by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and others to oust Johnson, saying such a move will destabilize the GOP and harm his election chances.
"We'll probably vote on Ukraine aid Saturday morning and it will pass the House with over 300 votes," Rep. Joe Wilson, R.-S.C., a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, told Newsmax on Thursday morning.
The bill will include roughly $60 billion in a supplemental defense package estimated at $93 billion that includes funding for Ukraine and Israel.
Supporters of the $60 billion package for Ukraine note that two-thirds of the money goes to U.S. defense contractors, employing tens of thousands of Americans.
"And the speaker will survive," Wilson added, discussing Johnson's situation.
"There are people within the conference who try to undermine him every hour, every day at every opportunity and what they forget is that there are no alternatives to Speaker Johnson," Wilson said.
So far, there are only two Republicans, Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who support vacating the chair.
Wilson said if the U.S. failed to support Ukraine at this critical hour, it would be tantamount to appeasement.
"Speaker Johnson is doing the right thing by holding this vote Saturday," Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., told Newsmax. "I've spoken this week to leaders of the Ukrainian community in the U.S. and they say it is so dangerous to wait this long in getting aid to their soldiers in war."
Steel, of South Korean heritage, warned that failing in Ukraine would send a worse message to China.
"China is watching carefully what we do this weekend and whether we stand strong with our allies," Steel said. "This may determine how soon they take action in Taiwan."
Several members applauded Johnson for bringing the Ukraine bill for a floor vote. These members also noted that several Freedom Caucus members went into revolt against Speaker Kevin McCarthy because House leadership was not allowing bills to go to the floor.
But now they're angry because the Ukraine bill is going to the floor.
Although details of the expected Saturday vote are changing by the hour, it is expected there will be votes on three portions of the supplemental measure — aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific.
After those votes, there will likely be an effort to cobble together all three in a bill that closely resembles the legislation already passed by the Senate.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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