House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he won’t be rushed to consider the Senate’s stripped-down $95 billion version of a foreign aid package that includes funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan because it lacks any mention of U.S. border security.

Instead, Johnson said he has been requesting for nearly a month to meet with President Joe Biden to deal with the crisis at the southern border.

The speaker did not rule out consideration of foreign aid funding, but said before Congress deals with issues around the world, lawmakers will “take care of our own first.” Read Full Story

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The House Oversight Committee launched an investigation Wednesday over alleged meetings between climate envoy John Kerry and environmental activists.

Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to provide unredacted documents and communications related to Kerry’s “collusion with leftist environmental groups,” as well as information on the makeup and payroll of his office. 

Comer said Americans deserved to know what Kerry and his staff have promised “in off-the-record meetings with leftist environmental groups.” 

Communications reviewed by the committee, Comer said, show groups asking for and receiving consultation from the climate envoy office on “strategic guidance for navigating ‘funding gap[s]’ for climate-related finance action” that could be used to support “possible wealth transfers or insider dealings.”

He is asking for the requested documents to arrive at the committee no later than Feb. 21 and cover the time period from Jan. 20, 2021, to the present. Read Full Story

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• The Washington Times: Senators Eye Slimmed-Down Package With Ukraine, Israel Money
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• The Daily Caller: ‘There Was No Deal’: Sen. Kennedy Explains Why Republicans Killed Bipartisan Border Security Bill
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In his first floor speech after being elected House leader, Speaker Mike Johnson addressed colleagues Wednesday, accusing President Joe Biden of deliberately opening the southern border, causing record-high immigration numbers.

“We have a catastrophe at the southern border. It is because the border has been deliberately opened wide that we see the terrific horrors that are taking place,” Johnson said in his 30-minute speech. “I’m here this morning to beg my colleagues to help us force the administration to take action.” 

Negotiations between Senate Republicans and Democrats continue over enacting new border laws. Read Full Story

• The Hill: Johnson: Ukraine Aid, Border Reform ‘Likely’ to Be Split
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