After weeks of setbacks and delays, the U.S. Senate gave final approval early Tuesday to a $95 million wartime aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies, sending the bill to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Fate is uncertain.
The Senate passed the bill 70-29 in a pre-dawn vote, easily passing the 60-vote threshold needed to pass most legislation. Nearly all Democrats and 22 Republicans approved the bill, exposing deep divisions within the Republican Party over America’s responsibilities to allies and its role on the world stage.
The measure includes $60 billion in funding for Ukraine. In Ukraine, soldiers are running low on ammunition as they try to repel Russian forces nearly two years after the invasion. Much of that money will go to support military operations in Ukraine and replenish U.S. arms and equipment sent to the front lines. Another $14 billion would go to support Israeli and U.S. military operations in the region. More than $8 billion will be spent on aid to U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan, as part of efforts to thwart Chinese aggression.
It has also earmarked nearly $10 billion for humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine, Israel and the Gaza Strip, where nearly a quarter of the population goes hungry and large swathes of territory have been destroyed.
Joe Biden has been urging Congress for months to rush aid to Ukraine, but nearly two years after the invasion, Ukrainian military leaders are struggling to get their soldiers to buy ammunition as they fight Russia on the front lines. warned that there was a shortage.
“We cannot wait any longer. The cost of inaction is growing every day, especially in Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement, praising the bipartisan coalition of senators who approved the bill. “It’s time for the House to take action and immediately send this bipartisan bill to my desk for me to sign into law.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the passage of the aid package sends a clear message to both friends and foes that “American leadership will not waver, we will not falter, and we will not fail.” It was praised as such.
“Today, the Senate confirmed that we are approaching the monumental and critical moment that the United States now faces,” Schumer said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “It is now up to the House to seize this moment, do the right thing and save democracy as we know it.”
But hours earlier, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson effectively vetoed the aid package because it lacked border enforcement provisions, calling it “silent on the most pressing issues facing our country.” Stated.
“The mission of the National Security Supplemental Act was to secure America’s own borders before sending additional foreign aid around the world,” he said, adding that “we have not received any changes to border policy from the Senate. If not, the House would need to: We will continue to work voluntarily on these important issues. America deserves better than the current situation in the Senate. ”
Under pressure from Donald Trump and his right wing, Johnson watered down earlier legislation, including a bipartisan immigration deal aimed at cracking down on illegal border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservatives have been arguing since last year that foreign aid packages should be tied to border security measures aimed at curbing record levels of immigration to the U.S.-Mexico border. The three senators negotiated for months and ultimately drafted a bipartisan proposal that many conservative commentators hailed as the toughest border enforcement in decades.
But with immigration poised to play a key role in November’s election, Trump, who is almost certain to be the Republican nominee, was wary of handing the president anything resembling a political victory. Border security is a top priority for many Americans, and an overwhelming majority of them disapprove of Biden’s handling of the issue.
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After Senate Republicans blocked the border security bill last week, Schumer withdrew it and moved forward with a tightly tailored foreign aid package.
“Republicans asked us to tie the fate of the free world to border security and asylum reform,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who helped broker the bipartisan border deal. He accused Republicans of backing away from the deal because President Trump believes that “chaos at the border is good for his campaign.”
He implored the House of Commons to act, adding: “The stakes could not be higher.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and minority leader, defended the bill despite widespread hostility in the chamber against it due to President Trump’s opposition.
“History will settle all responsibility,” he said in a statement. “And today, history will record that the Senate did not blink an eye when it came to the values of American leadership and strength.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy congratulated the passage of the bill. In the post of X“America’s continued support will help save lives from Russian terrorism. It means life goes on in our cities and we win the war.”
The Senate voted after an all-night session in which fellow Republican opponents launched a verbose filibuster and marathon speeches to delay passage.
“We are being invaded. A literal invasion is coming across our borders,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, declared in a floor speech Monday. “And all they had time in the Senate was to collect the money, get the cash pallets, load the plane, get the champagne and fly to Kiev.”
Last week, Paul voted against a bill that included border security policies.
Other Republican opponents included Sen. Lindsey Graham, once one of Congress’ most prominent hawks and an outspoken critic of the Kremlin. But on Monday night, the Trump critic-turned-loyalist followed in the footsteps of the former president and demanded that foreign aid be given in the form of loans.
In a statement, he reiterated his support for Ukraine, but said he hoped the House of Representatives would turn the aid package into a “loan, not a grant.”
“Until that day comes, I will vote no,” he wrote.
A small number of left-wing senators also opposed the bill, objecting to its inclusion of billions of dollars worth of offensive military aid to Israel as the Palestinian death toll from the Gaza war approaches 30,000.
“If Israel is using bombs and shells indiscriminately against Palestinian civilians, we cannot vote to send more bombs and shells,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon. the lawmaker said in a statement Monday night. He is joined by Vermont senators Peter Welch, a Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, an independent, who have previously sought to make aid to Israel conditional on whether the Israeli government violates human rights and international agreements in the Gaza Strip. agreed.
