Biden not ruling out Johnson’s foreign aid gambit. But not embracing it either.

President Joe Biden isn’t yet won over by Speaker Mike Johnson’s complicated new strategy for delivering aid to Ukraine and Israel. But he’s not ruling it out either.

The White House is taking a wait-and-see approach to the House GOP’s plan to hold four separate votes on funding for the U.S. allies and a range of other provisions, an official said on Tuesday. That’s in part because very little about the proposal or its path to passage is clear right now. As of Tuesday morning, there was no final version of the complex multi-part foreign aid bill, and Republicans were still openly debating whether to add to it, including a border security plan that could tank White House support.

On top of that uncertainty, conservatives are escalating their threats to oust Johnson from his post.

Biden, who spoke with Johnson about the speaker’s idea on Monday night, is reserving judgment until he sees more details on what will be included in each component of his strategy and how exactly they might move through the House.

The decision to stay out of the fray for now also reflects the White House’s view that there’s little clarity about how the next several days — or even hours — may play out on the Hill. Biden did not address the aid negotiations during a campaign appearance on Tuesday afternoon.

The White House has issued two parameters for the package, however. Officials have said that the end result must include aid to Ukraine as well as Israel, and action should happen “this week,” in light of Iran’s attack on Israel and Ukraine losing ground to Russia. After Johnson called Biden on Monday night to share details of his proposal, Biden personally stressed the need to move quickly, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday.

But the administration’s refusal to outright oppose individual votes on aid to Ukraine and Israel signals that it sees this as, perhaps, the last, best path forward for passing billions of dollars in foreign assistance after months of Congress stalling.

"It does appear at first blush that the Speaker's proposal will in fact help us get aid to Ukraine, aid to Israel and needed resources to the Indo-Pacific," Kirby said. "We just want to get more detail."

A pro-Kyiv advocacy group, Razom for Ukraine, released a Tuesday statement noting it would back a “good-faith effort” by Johnson to send military aid to the front lines. “If not, the House is ready to advance a discharge petition and Razom stands ready to hand each member a pen to sign it with,” said the group, which is in touch with many House lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed the administration’s caution on the floor Tuesday morning. “I am reserving judgment on what will come of the House until we see more about the substance of the proposal,” he said, adding a tone of urgency given Iran’s recent drone strike against Israel.

White House officials have since kept in close touch with Schumer and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, in an effort to coordinate the party's response amid the fast-evolving situation.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a close Biden ally who has also spoken to the White House on the issue recently, said he'd gotten some "encouraging signals" regarding the details of the plan — including that it would advance the humanitarian aid for Palestinians and other refugees included in the Senate's original aid package. But he cautioned that Democrats likely wouldn't commit to a position until Johnson released a final version of his proposal.

"That would make it more acceptable, or less objectionable," Coons said in an interview. But "we're all relying on press accounts today to know exactly where this is."

House Democrats similarly indicated an openness to backing the plan if it includes sufficient aid for Ukraine, and perhaps even helping Johnson overcome conservative opposition to put the individual bills on the floor.

"I'm not sure this bill gets us where we need to go in terms of de-escalating [in Gaza]," said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a member of Biden's campaign advisory board who has backed calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East. "But we need to pass aid for Ukraine, that's imperative."

The Biden administration and Senate leaders in both parties have strongly urged Johnson to take up the Senate-approved national security spending bill, arguing that it is the fastest way to get aid out the door. But Johnson has pushed back, arguing that the bitterly divided House has no clear path to passing the Senate bill, which includes $95 billion in aid to the three regions.

“We didn't think it was fair or right for the House to be you know, rolled by the Senate,” he said on Fox News Tuesday morning, adding that the vote on Israel aid will be first, followed by Taiwan and Ukraine.

Johnson told fellow Republicans late Monday that he would break up the president’s aid request – for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan – into separate votes and add on a package of GOP priorities. That bill, which is still in the works, could include a lend-lease deal for military aid and an arrangement to sell the assets seized from Russian oligarchs, as well as restrictions on TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company.

Whether Johnson can get all four pieces of legislation through the House is far from certain. He would likely need Democratic votes merely to pass a rule governing debate. If he bypasses the formal rule process, he can bring it to the floor using a maneuver that would require support from two-thirds of the House, including the support of many Democrats — which it’s not yet clear that he can get.

Eugene Daniels contributed to this report.