Johnson proposes Ukraine aid 'innovations' including loans, using seized Russian oligarch money

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he expects the House to move forward with an aid package that would provide support for Ukraine with "some important innovations," which may include loans for the war-torn Eastern European nation and using seized assets from Russian oligarchs.

On Fox News' "Sunday Night In America" Johnson appeared receptive to a plan that would offer Ukraine a loan rather than aid, as Congress has already approved $113 billion in response to Russia's invasion since February 2022, per the Government Accountability Office. 

Just the News reported in February that House Republicans had been toying with the idea of a loan to Ukraine rather than giving the country $61 billion, which the Senate approved in a foreign aid bill.

"When we return after this work period we'll be moving a product, but it's going to, I think, have some important innovations," Johnson said Sunday. Representatives are currently on a district work period and members are set to reconvene on Capitol Hill on April 9.

Johnson listed some of the potential proposals that Congress could enact to help Ukraine.

"If we could use the seized assets of Russian oligarchs to allow the Ukrainians to fight them, that's just pure poetry," he said.

"Even [former] President Trump has talked about the loan concept where we set up – we're not just giving foreign aid. We're setting it up in a relationship where they can provide it back to us when the time is right."

Johnson also said he wants to support U.S. energy to combat Russian gas exports that are helping fund the war effort.

"There's a lot of things that we should do that make more sense and that I think we'll have consensus around," Johnson said. "We're putting that product together and we'll be moving it right after the district work period."

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