House of Representatives will try to bypass Speaker Johnson to approve aid to Ukraine – mass media

Pro-Ukraine Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick is preparing to try to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson to approve aid to Ukraine, Axios reports.

"We have to do something... It's existential; it's time-sensitive. Whether it's our product or somebody else's, we have to get the money to them," the congressman said.

A so-called discharge petition is being prepared, he said and could force the House to vote if it gets 218 signatures.

The petition would need the support of a small number of Republicans, provided it receives the signatures of a majority of House Democrats.

The maneuver also requires a certain amount of time – 30 days of the House session – before the petition can be brought up for a vote. The petition will be ready for signing in early March.

Fitzpatrick noted that he has not yet decided which version of aid to Ukraine he will try to bring forward for consideration.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on February 25, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would need U.S. assistance within a month.

On February 27, the White House announced that the United States would not send its troops to Ukraine.

On February 28, CNN reported that the Pentagon is weighing a decision to provide aid to Ukraine without a decision from the U.S. Congress.