CBS News
As Ukraine aid languishes, 15 House members work on end run to approve funds
Standing next to the roaring fireplace in the lobby off the House floor, GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska paused and then said of the effort to pass Ukraine funding in the House, “I think we’re playing a pretty good game of chess here.”
But it’s unclear who makes the next move.
Bacon and 14 House colleagues are attempting an unorthodox, novel and — critics say — a long-shot effort to force a vote to provide emergency financial aid to Ukraine. The bipartisan group of House members have signed a formal “discharge petition” to help provide billions of dollars in aid for war-torn Ukraine, where money and munitions are in dwindling supply.
The discharge petition, organized by suburban Philadelphia Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, is the latest version of a rarely successful parliamentary technique to force a House vote on a measure that is opposed or otherwise blocked by House leadership.
The petition needs 218 votes to induce a floor vote. Though only 15 signatures have been gathered so far, including Fitzpatrick’s, supporters are bullish on its prospects. Speaking with CBS News, Fitzpatrick predicted a “dam break” that will lead to a wave of support and signatures.
Fitzpatrick told CBS News, “It’s the best option available right now. Time is of the essence. Ukraine is destitute right now.” Fitzpatrick said if party leaders give his petition their blessing, a wave of signatures would build in short order.
“I’m having constant conversations with people on both sides,” Fitzpatrick said.
Democrats have been trying to get their own discharge petition to the floor, one that would force a vote on the Senate national security bill, which would provide funding for Israel and Taiwan, as well as Ukraine, but Johnson will not allow a vote on it, citing the absence of language to strengthen security at the U.S.-Mexico border.
As dysfunction grips the House this year, most contentious votes must be passed outside of traditional rules and protocols. To circumvent the hurdles and floor procedures that have stymied the House, Republican leaders have passed major legislation under what’s known as a suspension of the rules, that is, by bypassing normal systems. This requires a supermajority of nearly 290 votes — support from members of both parties — to approve legislation.
The discharge petition plan drafted by Fitzpatrick would require only 218 votes to approve the Ukraine money, which supporters said would dramatically improve the odds of passage. “If we do it through this (type) of order, it won’t pass,” Bacon said of a vote under suspension of the rules. “Now, we’ll need just 218 votes.”
The petition, if it garners 218 signatures, could also be used as leverage to expedite sluggish negotiations among Congressional leaders. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said House GOP leaders have had ongoing discussions about how to provide foreign aid to Ukraine, but didn’t specify a deadline or date for consideration. Johnson said, “There’s a number of avenues that we’ve been looking at to address that. And I’m not going to say today what that is.”
One idea that has gained steam among House Republicans is sending Ukraine aid in the form of a loan. Former President Donald Trump suggested the idea in a Truth Social post in February, and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he discussed the idea of a “no-interest, waivable loan” with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a recent meeting.
Speaker Johnson seemed open to the idea of a loan on Wednesday, telling reporters that it was “a commonsense suggestion” that made sense to “a lot of people.” But he noted, “The devil is always in the details and the legislative text.”
The House is expected to leave Washington for a two-week district work period beginning this weekend. At a press conference Wednesday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell argued the House should move with urgency and swiftly approve a Senate-passed bill that would provide tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.
Some of the 15 signatories to the House discharge petition expressed confidence to CBS News that a vote on Ukraine financial aid would be certain to pass in the House, once a vote is permitted. Rep. Jenn Kiggans, a first-term Republican who represents a large Navy community in Southeast Virginia, told CBS News she is hoping the petition speeds up the debate and the decision on Ukraine. Kiggans said, “It’s the only mechanism I have right now. I’m hopeful that our leadership is going to listen.”
“We are the world’s superpower,” Kiggans said. “We need to be there for our friends.”
The effort won a new signature Wednesday, from GOP Rep. Brandon Williams, who represents a swing district in central New York.
Fitzpatrick told CBS News his discharge petition is built for flexibility. The specifics of the aid package and the proposal could be broadened before it goes to the House floor for a vote, potentially expanding to include further border security provisions or aid to the Middle East. “I just have a tremendous sense of urgency, and I wish my colleagues would join me.”
Bacon, who compared the strategy to a chess maneuver, said House leadership can move the legislative pieces too.
“They can revise our bill and do what they need to do,” Bacon told CBS News.
Ellis Kim contributed to this report.
NEW YORK — The Teamsters union is launching a strike against Amazon at numerous locations across the country, including in Maspeth, Queens.
The Teamsters are calling it the largest strike against Amazon in United States history, and it’s set to begin at 6 a.m. Thursday. In addition to New York City, workers will be joining picket lines in Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Illinois.
In a video announcement released Wednesday night, workers voiced their frustrations.
“Us being strike ready means we’re fed up, and Amazon is clearly ignoring us and we want to be heard,” one worker says in the video.
“It’s really exciting. We’re taking steps for ourselves to win better conditions, better benefits, better wages,” another worker in the video says.
The union says it represents about 10,000 Amazon employees and that Amazon ignored a deadline to come to the table and negotiate. The $2 trillion company doesn’t pay employees enough to make ends meet, the union asserts.
At the height of the holiday season, many are wondering what this means for packages currently in transit.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said, “If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed.”
Amazon says Teamsters are misleading the public
An Amazon spokesperson says the Teamsters are misleading the public and do not represent any Amazon employees, despite any claims.
“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
An Amazon representative says the company doesn’t expect operations to be impacted.
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Wisconsin school shooter was in contact with California man plotting his own attack, court documents say
The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California whom authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday.
Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told the Associated Press Wednesday. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday.
A Southern California judge issued a restraining order Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man. The order requires the man to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.
Carlsbad is located just north of San Diego.
According to the order, the man told FBI agents that he had been messaging Natalie Rupnow, the Wisconsin shooter, about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives. The order doesn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also doesn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting a mass shooting with her.
CBS’ San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV reported that law enforcement searched the man’s home Tuesday night after the order was signed by the judge.
Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive for the shooting, Barnes told the AP.
Police don’t know if anyone was targeted in the attack or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said. Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
“I do not know if if she planned it that day or if she planned it a week prior,” Barnes said. “To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what the premeditation is.”
On a Madison city website providing details about the shooting, police disclosed Wednesday that two guns were found at the school, but only one was used in the shooting. A law enforcement source previously told CBS News the weapon used appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
Barnes told the AP that he did not know how the suspected shooter obtained the guns and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.
No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged in relation to the shooting, but they have been cooperating, Barnes told the AP.
Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school that offers prekindergarten classes through high school. About 420 students attend the institution.
The Dan County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two people killed Wednesday as 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.