House passes aid package for Ukraine and Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House quickly approved $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a rare Saturday session as Democrats and Republicans united after months of far-right resistance in the face of renewed U.S. support to push back The invasion of Russia.

With an overwhelming vote, the $61 billion in aid to Ukraine passed in minutes, a strong showing as U.S. lawmakers rush to deliver a new round of U.S. support to the war-torn ally . Many Democrats applauded in the House and waved blue and yellow flags of Ukraine.

Aid to Israel and other allies was also approved by good margins, as was a measure to crack down the popular TikTok platform, with unique coalitions forming to advance different bills. The entire package will be submitted to the Senate, which could adopt it as early as Tuesday. President Joe Biden has promised to sign it immediately.

“We have done our job here and I think history will judge that,” said one President Mike Johnson, tiredR-La., who risked his own work to gather the package to the crossing.

Biden, in a statement, thanked Johnson, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers “who voted to prioritize our national security.”

“I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet its urgent battlefield needs,” he said. President.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was “grateful” to both parties in the House and “personally, President Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on track,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

“Thank you, America!” ” he said.

The scene in Congress was a striking display of action after months of dysfunction and gridlock fueled by Republicans, who hold the majority but are deeply divided over foreign aid, particularly for Ukraine. Johnson relied on Democrats to ensure that military and humanitarian funding – the first major program for Ukraine since December 2022 – was approved.

The morning opened with a somber, serious debate and an unusual sense of resolve as Republican and Democratic leaders united in calling for speedy approval, saying it would ensure the United States stood by its allies and remained a leader on the world stage. The visitors’ galleries of the House were filled with onlookers.

“The eyes of the world are on us and history will judge what we do here and now,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Passage through the House cleared the biggest obstacle to Biden’s funding request, first made in October as Ukraine’s military supplies began to run out.

The Republican-controlled House has 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, to then immediately reject a bipartisan offer from the Senate along these lines.

Reaching an endgame was a excruciating lift for Johnson This has tested both his resolve and his support among Republicans, a small but growing number of whom are now openly calling for his removal as president. Yet congressional leaders framed the vote as a turning point in history — an urgent sacrifice as America’s allies are besieged by wars and threats from continental Europe to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.

“Sometimes when you’re living through history, as we are today, you don’t understand the importance of the actions of the votes that we make in the House, of the effect that will have in the future,” he said. declared the New York representative. . Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “This is a historic moment.”

Opponents, particularly far-right Republicans from Johnson’s majority, have argued that the United States should focus on the home front, tackling internal border security and the country’s growing debt. country, and they warned of additional spending, much of which goes to U.S. defense manufacturers. produce weapons used abroad.

Still, Congress has received numerous visiting world leaders in recent months, ranging from Zelensky to the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, almost begging lawmakers to approve the aid. Globally, this delay has led many to question America’s commitment to its allies.

At stake is one of Biden’s top foreign policy priorities: stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advance in Europe. After engaging in low-key discussions with Johnson, the president quickly endorsed Johnson’s plan, clearing the way for Democrats to provide rare support to overcome 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 in danger,” Jeffries said during the debate.

While aid to Ukraine failed to convince the majority of Republicans, several dozen progressive Democrats voted against the bill aiding Israel, demanding 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 in favor of allies like Israel and Taiwan, which traditionally enjoy Republican Party support.

At the same time, Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has played a major role in the fight, weighing in from afar via social media statements and direct phone calls with lawmakers as he tilts the Party Republican towards a more isolationist position with his “America First”. » brand of politics.

Ukraine’s defense once enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Congress, but as the war enters its third year, a majority of Republicans have opposed additional aid. Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., proposed an amendment to cut the money to zero, but it was rejected.

The ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus derided the bill as “America’s Last” in foreign wars and urged lawmakers to defy Republican leadership and oppose it because the bills law did not include border security measures.

Johnson’s grip on the president’s gavel has also become more tenuous in recent days as three Republicans, led by Greene, backed a “rescind motion” that can lead to a vote on impeaching the president. Encouraged by far-right figures, she is also joined by a growing number of lawmakers, including Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who are urging Johnson to step down voluntarily.

The package included several Republican priorities that Democrats have endorsed, or at least are willing to accept. These include proposals allowing the United States to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to rebuild Ukraine; impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl; And legislation requiring the Chinese owner of the popular video app TikTok to sell its stake within a year or face a ban in the United States.

Yet the efforts to pass the bills through Congress reflect not only politics, but also the realities on the ground in Ukraine. Top lawmakers on national security committees, who have access to classified briefings, have become gravely concerned about the course of the war as Russia strikes Ukrainian forces embroiled in armed conflict. lack of troops And ammunition.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 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.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, as he prepared to overcome objections from his right flank next week, said: “The task before us is urgent. It is once again the Senate’s turn to make history.”