In a move to increase pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson, House Democrats and a small group of centrist Republicans have initiated separate endeavors to push for a vote on tens of billions of dollars in wartime aid for Ukraine. These initiatives come as an impasse in Congress persists over the allocation of approximately $60 billion in military assistance for Ukraine.

The House Democrats, despite being in the minority, have begun gathering signatures through a "discharge petition" to demand a floor vote on the Senate's $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. A rarely successful procedural tool, the discharge petition has the potential to bypass the speaker's control over bringing bills up for a vote. At the same time, a group of Republicans has launched their own signature drive for a bill that would reduce the package to $66 billion, predominantly for military aid, while also incorporating border security provisions.

The disagreement highlights the divisions within Congress regarding the provision of additional ammunition and weaponry for Ukraine, with conservatives opposing the idea. Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has been reluctant to take up the package passed by the Senate, insisting that the House should determine its own course of action. He has indicated that the House will prioritize the package only after resolving government funding, and he continues to emphasize the need for policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico border to be coupled with the aid.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers have been facing shortages of ammunition as U.S. supplies have been halted in recent months. Representative Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, has expressed frustration with the speaker's unwillingness to bring the bill to the floor and has called for bipartisan support. Nonetheless, some progressive Democrats may be hesitant to endorse the legislation due to the inclusion of military aid for Israel.

For either petition to trigger action in the House, it must secure the signatures of a majority of lawmakers, amounting to 218 members. With Republicans controlling the House by a slim margin of 219-213, some Republicans would have to defy their party leadership and support the Democratic-backed petition. Furthermore, progressive Democrats' reluctance to sign on due to the inclusion of military aid for Israel poses an additional obstacle.

Despite resistance from both sides, Speaker Mike Johnson is also facing internal pressure within his conference to address the issue of aid for Ukraine. A group of centrist Republicans has initiated their own discharge petition effort, advocating for $48 billion in assistance, principally through the provision of ammunition and weaponry. Their proposal also includes a one-year requirement for asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are being decided. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, is leading this effort, which has gained support from six Republicans and three Democrats.

In an attempt to break the stalemate, another group of House Republicans is working on drafting their own version of a foreign aid package. Their iteration would trim back the foreign aid allocated to Ukraine, limiting it solely to military assistance instead of supporting the functioning of the Ukrainian government.

Speaker Mike Johnson has urged Republicans to refrain from signing any discharge petitions and has yet to present a clear plan regarding Ukraine aid. The successful use of a discharge petition was last witnessed in 2015 when a bipartisan group compelled a vote to revive the U.S. Export-Import Bank more than three months after its charter expired.