The House quickly approved $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a rare session on Saturday, as Democrats and Republicans united over renewed U.S. support to repel a Russian invasion after months of far-right boycotts .
$61 billion in aid to Ukraine passed in a landslide vote within minutes, a strong showing as U.S. lawmakers scrambled to provide a new round of support to the war-torn ally. Many Democrats cheered on the House floor and waved Ukrainian blue and yellow flags.
Aid to Israel and other allies also gained approval, as did a measure to crack down on the popular platform TikTok, and a unique coalition formed to push separate bills. The entire package will go to the Senate, where it could pass it as soon as Tuesday. President Joe Biden has pledged to sign it immediately.
“We did our job here, and I think history will judge it well,” said an exhausted House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who risked his job. Let the plan pass.
In a statement, Biden thanked Johnson, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers for “voting to put our national security first.”
“I urge the Senate to quickly get this package to my desk so I can sign it into law and we can quickly deliver weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs,” the president said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X (formerly Twitter) that he was grateful to both parties in the House of Representatives and “Speaker Mike Johnson personally for his decision to make history.” Decisions to stay on track”.
“Thank you, America!” he said.
The scene in Congress, which holds a Republican majority but is deeply divided over foreign aid, particularly aid to Ukraine, was a stunning display of action after months of dysfunction and gridlock. Johnson is relying on Democrats to secure approval for military and humanitarian funding – the first major package for Ukraine since December 2022.
The morning session began with a serious and serious debate, with Republican and Democratic leaders united in urging swift ratification, saying it would ensure the United States supports its allies and maintains its leadership on the world stage. The visiting galleries of the Forbidden City were packed with onlookers.
“The eyes of the world are upon us, and history will judge what we do here and now,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The House passage clears the biggest hurdle for Biden’s funding request, which he first made in October when Ukraine’s military supplies began to run low.
The Republican-controlled House struggled for months over what to do, first demanding that any aid to Ukraine be tied to policy changes on the U.S.-Mexico border, then summarily rejecting a bipartisan Senate proposal to do the same.
The final stretch has been a painful lift for Johnson, testing his resolve and the support of Republicans, a small but growing number of whom are now publicly urging him to leave the speaker’s office. Congressional leaders, however, see the vote as a turning point in history — an urgent sacrifice as America’s allies are beset by wars and threats from the European continent to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.
“Sometimes when you live in history, as we do today, you don’t understand the magnitude of the voting action we did in the House and the impact it will have,” said New York Rep. Gregory M. Gregory Meeks, the Democratic leader of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “This is a historic moment.”
Opponents, especially far-right Republicans in Johnson’s majority, argue the U.S. should focus domestically on domestic border security and the nation’s rising debt burden, and they warn against spending more money, which largely goes to U.S. defense. manufacturer. Produce weapons for overseas use.
Still, world leaders from Zelensky to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have visited Congress in recent months, all but imploring lawmakers to approve the aid. Globally, the delay has led many to question the United States’ commitment to its allies.
One of Biden’s foreign policy priorities is to stem Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advance in Europe. The president quickly approved Johnson’s plan after secret talks with him, paving the way for Democrats to provide rare support to clear the procedural hurdles needed for a final vote.
“We have a responsibility, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans, to defend democracy wherever it is at risk,” Jeffries said during the debate.
While aid to Ukraine failed to win support from most Republicans, dozens of progressive Democrats voted against the bill to aid Israel as they demanded an end to the bombing of Gaza that has killed thousands of civilians. A group of about 20 far-right Republicans voted against every part of the aid package, including allies such as Israel and Taiwan that have traditionally enjoyed Republican support.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has loomed large in the fight, speaking from afar through social media statements and direct calls to lawmakers, leaning the party toward an “America First” mantra. A more isolationist stance. “The brand of politics.
Ukraine’s defense once enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Congress, but as the war enters its third year, most Republicans oppose further aid. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally, offered an amendment to zero out the funding, but it was rejected.
The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus derided the bill as “America’s last” foreign war package and urged lawmakers to ignore Republican leadership and oppose it because it does not include border security measures.
Johnson’s grip on the speaker’s gavel has also become more tenuous in recent days, with three Republicans led by Greene supporting a “vacation motion” that could lead to a vote to remove the speaker. She has been joined by a growing number of lawmakers, including Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, urging Johnson to voluntarily step down.
The plan includes several Republican priorities that Democrats endorse or are at least willing to embrace. They include proposals to allow the United States to seize assets frozen by the Russian central bank to rebuild Ukraine; impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organizations that traffic in fentanyl; and legislation requiring the Chinese owners of popular video app TikTok to sell their shares within a year. , otherwise it will face a ban in the United States.
Still, the all-out push to pass these bills in Congress reflects not only politics but also Ukraine’s reality. Top National Security Council lawmakers briefed on classified briefings are increasingly concerned about the war situation as Russia strikes back against Ukrainian forces struggling with troop and ammunition shortages.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the Senate would begin procedural votes on the package on Tuesday, saying: “Our allies around the world have been waiting for this moment.”
“The task before us is urgent. Now it’s the Senate’s turn to make history,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said as he prepared to overcome opposition from the right next week.
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