Senate's $95bn for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan faces uphill battle in House
- While Senate Democrats were in favour of passing the bill, Republicans were divided and previously voted it down.
The package has $60bn for Ukraine, $14bn for Israel's war against Hamas and $10bn for humanitarian aid in conflict zones, including in Gaza.
But the House of Representatives Speaker suggested he might block it.
The package, which includes more than $8bn for Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific allies, passed the Democratic-controlled Senate by 70 to 29 in a predawn vote on Tuesday.
- Twenty-two Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined the other side of the aisle to approve the legislation.
The bipartisan support came despite former President Donald Trump's criticism of the bill for its lack of funding to secure the US-Mexico border.
Speaking on Tuesday afternoon from the White House, President Joe Biden urged House Republicans to pass the measure.
"Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin. Opposing it is playing into Putin's hands," Mr Biden said. "History is watching."
Mr McConnell, a Kentucky senator, said in a statement following the vote: "Today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink."
Ukraine's leader said he was "grateful" to senators.
"For us in Ukraine, continued US assistance helps to save human lives from Russian terror," President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The war has broadly reached a stalemate, despite Russian attempts to advance in the eastern Donbas region and Ukrainian attacks in the south.
Officials in Kyiv want more military aid, especially new air defences, after President Vladimir Putin pledged to "intensify" the assault.
But conservative Republicans have objected to sending billions overseas without first tackling the migrant crisis on the southern US frontier.
- He was one of several Republican opponents who gave speeches in a bid to slow down passage of the measure.
- Some left-wing lawmakers, including Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, also voted against the bill, citing concerns about supporting Israel's bombing of Gaza.
. . .Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested in a statement on Monday night the new bill would not pass the Republican-controlled lower chamber of Congress without such provisions.
Getty ImagesThe Louisiana congressman said lawmakers "should have gone back to the drawing board" with the legislation to focus on border security.
- Mr Johnson and the House Republican leadership will have to decide whether to bring the package to a vote in that chamber, attempt to amend it and send it back to the Senate, or to ignore it entirely.
This is a rare parliamentary procedure that would circumvent Mr Johnson and force a vote.
Getty Images- After the Senate vote, Mr Johnson said his chamber "will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters".
- He could divide the different pieces of aid into separate components, or add conservative US immigration reforms.
At a Tuesday news conference, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said he hoped to speak to Mr Johnson in the coming days and convince him how urgent it was for the House to pass the measure.
The New York senator earlier hailed passage of the bill, saying they were "telling Putin he will regret the day he questioned America's resolve".
The US is one of the largest providers of aid to Ukraine. The White House asked Congress months ago to pass a bill that included foreign aid.
This could be Congress's last shot at passing Ukraine aid for the foreseeable future, and Ukraine has warned it may not be able to successfully defend itself against Russia without Washington's backing.
Звернення Володимира Зеленського наприкінці 720-го дня війни
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