House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) top policy advisor has ties to Ukraine, according to a new report.
Johnson’s sudden push to support Ukraine has led to backlash from Republicans.
Many in the GOP say the speaker is breaking a pledge to focus on America’s domestic priorities.
A report in Breitbart found that Johnson’s top policy advisor, Dan Ziegler, is a former lobbyist for corporations with interests tied to Ukraine.
For months, Johnson tied foreign aid for Ukraine with border security.
However, he has untangled the two issues under mounting pressure from Republican hawks and the White House.
The speaker is pushing for a vote Saturday on a $95 billion, multi-part foreign aid bill.
The bill has won backing from Democrat President Joe Biden.
Sources credited the speaker’s shift to the influence of Dan Ziegler and Josh Hodges, Johnson’s national security advisor.
“Mike used to vote differently,” an anonymous source told Breitbart.
“What changed? Who’s he talking to now?
“That’s Ziegler and Hodges.”
Ziegler previously worked for Johnson when he chaired the Republican Study Committee and returned to Johnson’s payroll when he won the Speaker’s gavel.
In the interim, Ziegler was a lobbyist at Williams & Jensen.
The firm’s clients include pharmaceutical giants