Washington —

An inexperienced House speaker facing a brewing insurgency within his party seeking a bipartisan compromise to advance defense funding for Ukraine and Israel received an endorsement from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday.

“He’s doing a very good job under very difficult circumstances,” Trump said at the start of a news conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

Trump suggested Republicans push for more U.S. military aid to Ukraine “in the form of loans, not gifts.”

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana who has served as House speaker since October, has not made any statement on the aid. But Trump’s stance could have consequences for many House Republicans.

Johnson has been negotiating with the White House over a package that deviates from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security legislation, according to Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana.

The most controversial elements include aid to Ukraine, which is locked in a defensive war against Russia, and to Israel, which is attacking Hamas in Gaza.

Johnson’s job in jeopardy

Johnson was relatively unknown on the national stage when he became House speaker as a compromise candidate among Republicans, but he found his job in jeopardy. Republicans are deeply divided over further U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

“I’m not giving any money to Ukraine, never have been and never will be,” Rep. Troy Niers said Thursday in response to questions from VOA’s Ukrainian service. “Who can tell me what Ukraine’s strategy is?”

Niels, one of the Republican lawmakers who falsely claimed the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” in favor of President Joe Biden, predicted that if Trump is re-elected president in November, Russian forces “will be there on April 1 Evacuate Ukraine before

Another House Republican, Keith Self of Texas, wants any support for Ukraine tied to increased funding for security along the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

Self told VOA that while Kiev awaits further aid from Washington, it should seek help from European countries.

“I think Europe is starting to realize they need to take care of their own backyard,” said Self, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

If Johnson is seen as pandering to Democratic desires, the number of Republican lawmakers dissatisfied with his leadership could grow.

Johnson has been forced to work with Democrats on major legislation as his party retains a slim majority in the House.

Democrats divided on Israel

House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New Jersey said Democrats would help Johnson keep his job if the speaker helps push the national security package forward to the House in the Democratic-majority Senate. Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Democrats are also divided over the bill, with some opposing shipments of offensive weapons from the United States to Israel during its offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.

“I am considering the possibility of only Ukraine [funding] Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic congresswoman from Washington state and chairwoman of the left-wing Progressive Congressional Caucus, told VOA’s Ukrainian service that “we are working on a bill” to avoid further delays.

Rep. Madeleine Dean said withholding aid to Ukraine “would be inappropriate on our part,” calling the hesitancy of some lawmakers from both parties “completely un-American” and placating Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I can’t tell you how strongly I feel about this, how frustrated and angry I am,” the Pennsylvania Democrat added emotionally on the steps of the Capitol.

The task of forging consensus in the House falls largely on Johnson, a far-right litigator who voted against certification of the 2020 presidential election. The Trump loyalist is the most inexperienced speaker in nearly a century and a half.

Johnson’s visit to Trump’s Florida vacation home on Friday was seen as an attempt by the waning House speaker to gain support from the former president. Trump’s support is critical to whether top Republicans can keep or win their jobs.

His lack of support for previously elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel led them to resign from their respective leadership positions.