The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives on Saturday approved the first in a series of bills in a $95 billion legislative package providing security aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, despite the objections from hardline legislators.
More than two months have passed since the Democratic-majority Senate approved a similar measure, and American leaders, from Democratic President Joe Biden to the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, have urged the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, to put it to a vote.
This week, Johnson chose to ignore threats of removal from hard-line members of his fractious 218-213 majority and push ahead with the measure, which includes some $60.84 billion for Ukraine, which has been fighting an invasion for two years. Russian.
The unusual four-bill package also includes funding for Israel, security aid for Taiwan and allies in the Indo-Pacific and a measure that includes sanctions, a threat to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok and the possible transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine.
The bill imposing the new limits on TikTok was the first of the four to pass on Saturday.
“The world is watching what Congress does,” the White House said in a statement Friday. “Passing this legislation would send a powerful message about the strength of American leadership at a crucial time. “The Administration urges both houses of Congress to quickly send this supplemental funding package to the president’s desk.”
A bipartisan 316-94 majority in the House of Representatives voted Friday to bring the bill to a vote, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told senators to be prepared to work through the end of week if it passed the House as expected.
“It’s not perfect legislation, it’s not legislation we would write if Republicans were in charge of the House, the Senate and the White House,” Johnson told reporters Friday. “It’s the best possible product we can get under these circumstances to address these really important obligations.”
Some hardline Republicans have expressed strong opposition to more aid to Ukraine, arguing that the United States cannot afford it given its growing $34 trillion national debt. They have repeatedly raised the threat of ousting Johnson, who became speaker in October after his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted by party hardliners.
The Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, who has enormous influence in the party, expressed his support for Johnson on April 12 and in a message published on social networks on Thursday said that the survival of Ukraine is important for the United States. .
The bills provide $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, including $23 billion to replenish American weapons, stockpiles and facilities; 26 billion for Israel, including 9.1 billion for humanitarian needs, and 8.12 billion for the Indo-Pacific.
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