Washington:

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $95 billion legislative package with broad bipartisan support to provide security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, despite strong opposition from Republican hardliners.

The legislation now heads to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar measure more than two months ago. U.S. leaders from Democratic President Joe Biden to Senate Republican Mitch McConnell have been urging embattled Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it up for a vote.

The Senate is expected to pass the measure next week and send it to Biden to sign into law.

The bill provides $60.84 billion to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, including $23 billion to replenish U.S. weapons, stockpiles, and facilities; provides Israel with $26 billion, of which $9.1 billion is for humanitarian needs; The Pacific region provided $8.12 billion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude and said that U.S. lawmakers took action to put “history on the right track.”

“The vital U.S. aid bill passed by the House of Representatives today will stop the war from expanding, save thousands of lives, and help our two countries become stronger,” Zelensky said on X.

It’s unclear how quickly Ukraine’s new military funding will be exhausted, which could lead to calls from Congress for further action.

Biden, who has been urging Congress since last year to approve additional aid to Ukraine, said in a statement: “This comes at a time of extreme urgency, as Israel faces unprecedented attacks from Iran and Ukraine amid continued Russian bombardment. attack.”

The vote on the Ukraine funding bill was 311 to 112. But it’s worth noting that 112 Republicans opposed the legislation and only 101 supported it.

“Mike Johnson is a lame duck … he’s done,” far-right Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene later told reporters.

She has been a leading opponent of the war to help Ukraine against Russia and has taken steps to threaten to oust Johnson over the issue. However, Green did not do that on Saturday.

During the vote, several lawmakers waved small Ukrainian flags as it became clear that part of the package was about to be passed. Johnson warned lawmakers it was a “breach of decorum.”

Meanwhile, action by the House of Representatives during a rare session on Saturday revealed some cracks in Congress’ staunch support for Israel. In recent months, progressive Democrats have expressed anger at the Israeli government and its war in Gaza.

But in Saturday’s vote, the Israel aid package passed 366 to 58, with 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans opposed.

The passage of the long-awaited legislation is being closely watched by U.S. defense contractors, who could be awarded huge contracts to supply equipment to Ukraine and other U.S. partners.

Johnson this week chose to ignore threats of expulsion from hardline members of his 218-213 majority and pushed for measures including funding for Ukraine as the country struggles to fend off two years of Russian aggression.

The unusual four-bill bill also includes a measure that includes threats to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok and potentially transfer seized Russian assets to Ukraine.

Some hard-line Republicans strongly oppose further aid to Ukraine, arguing that the United States cannot afford the aid given its growing national debt of $34 trillion. They have repeatedly threatened to oust Johnson. Johnson became speaker in October after his predecessor Kevin McCarthy was ousted by party hardliners.

“This is not perfect legislation, and we would not have legislation like this if Republicans were in charge of the House, Senate and White House,” Johnson told reporters on Friday. “This is the best product we can get under the circumstances,” Johnson told reporters on Friday. can fulfill these truly important obligations.”

Rep. Bob Goode, chairman of the hawkish House Freedom Caucus, told reporters Friday that the bills represent “a slide into a greater fiscal crisis and a reflection on Biden and (Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck) Schumer and (House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries) do not reflect the American people.”

But Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has huge influence in the party, expressed support for Johnson on April 12 and said in a social media post on Thursday that Ukraine’s survival was important to the United States.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)