Senate Passes Foreign Aid Bill But It Faces Strong Opposition In The House
The U.S. Senate voted 70-29 to pass a controversial foreign aid bill early Tuesday morning that could be "dead on arrival" in the House of Representatives, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The $95.3 billion bill, which provides $60 billion for military assistance to Ukraine, $14.1 billion in support for Israel, $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid for the Gaza strip, and $4.8 billion for Taiwan, surprisingly received the votes of 22 Republicans.
That support comes despite warnings from former President Donald Trump, who has been pressuring Republicans not to back the bill, and Johnson, who threatens to kill the bill in the House and push for a stand-alone funding bill that would help only Israel. But the Senate ignored the warnings and passed the bill after an all-night session.
"History settles every account," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement following the vote. "And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink."
The Republican-led House had attempted to tie the bill to U.S.-Mexico border security but backed away after Trump said he did not want to give the Biden administration an election-year win. Johnson had told the Senate not to bother bringing forth the bill.
"The Senate's foreign aid bill is silent on the most pressing issue facing our country," Johnson said in a statement at the time, adding that "the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has told the U.S. and NATO allies that aid is critical for defending his country from a two-year Russian invasion, issued a statement thanking the Senate and asking the House to follow suit.
"For us in Ukraine, continued U.S. assistance helps to save human lives from Russian terror. It means that life will continue in our cities and will triumph over war," Zelensky said on X.
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