How this obscure House procedure can pass Ukraine aid without Mike Johnson

House Democrats have begun their efforts to force a vote on Ukraine aid on the floor of the House over the protestations of Speaker Mike Johnson.

Democrats are attempting to use a discharge petition to circumvent the Republican leaders in charge of what gets a vote of the full House.

The effort, which faces long odds of success, was put into action on Tuesday. Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the ranking member on the House Rules Committee, sponsored the petition, which would need 218 signatures to force the lower chamber to consider a $95bn bill passed by the Senate which includes aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

“I don’t believe in unconditional aid to the Israeli Government particularly, especially in this juncture, when there’s been a total lack of restraint,” New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The Independent on Wednesday. But some progressive Democrats fear have serious reservations because of Israel’s conduct during its war with Hamas in Gaza.

“The discharge petition that has unconditional aid to Israel? I’m voting no,” Illinois Democratic Representative Delia Ramirez said.

A discharge petition, in US parliamentary procedure, is a way of pushing a bill out of a committee by discharging the panel from considering the legislation at hand. An absolute majority – 218 signatures – is needed for passage. Democrats currently have 213 members.

Democratic Virginia Representative Abigail Spanberger, one of the signatories of the petition, told The Independent: “Do we want to coddle Vladimir Putin and allow Russia to win? Or do we want to do the job of supporting an ally in their fight for freedom? I mean, that's essentially the question.”

While some Republican members