US House approves $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine after months of stagnation

After months of stalemate, the US House of Representatives finally approved more than $61 billion in military assistance to help Ukraine in its desperate defense against Russia, as well as billions for other allies, including Israel and Taiwan.

In a bipartisan vote, 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans came together to support Ukraine, with 112 Republicans – the majority of members of the Republican Party – voting against. This came after House Speaker Mike Johnson forced a series of bills to come to a vote in the face of fierce resistance within his own Republican party, many of whom oppose spending more on Ukraine’s defense.

Related: Russia-Ukraine War: Who will finance Ukraine’s defense?

Voting began hours ahead of schedule in an extraordinary Saturday session that delayed the House’s planned recess. The House erupted in applause when the Ukraine bill passed, with the Speaker, Marc Molinaro of New York, admonishing members not to wave Ukrainian flags.

In a powerful effort to sum up the stakes ahead of the vote, former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a stridently graphic plea: “I hope our colleagues will choose democracy and decency over autocracy and evil, because I’m afraid that if they choose the Putin path, you will have blood on your hands, blood of children, blood of mothers raped in front of their fathers, raped in front of their children,” she said.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, recently warned that his country “will lose the war” without US help, as its military has struggled with ammunition and air defense shortages and Russia has enjoyed a growing advantage. in firepower while Congress prevaricates.

Immediately after the bill was approved, Zelenskiy released a statement expressing his gratitude to both parties “and personally to President Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right path.”

“Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps protect them,” he said. “The vital U.S. relief bill passed by the House today will stop the spread of war, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both our nations become stronger. Just peace and security can only be achieved through force. We expect the bills to be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden’s desk. Thank you, America!

Members were voting on a package worth close to $95 billion in total, but which had been split into four separate bills, as Johnson effectively decoupled the vote on Ukraine from funding for Israel, which is more widely supported among both Democrats and Republicans. .

The vote on granting additional funding to Israel was also easily approved in the House, with 365 votes in favor and just 57 against: 36 Democrats and 21 Republicans.

By dividing the bill into four, Johnson sought to give recalcitrant far-right members of his own Republican Party conference the opportunity to vote their conscience on the parts they didn’t like.

The first to be voted on was a bill that included border security legislation, which failed, as expected. Many right-wing Republicans do not want the Biden administration to take credit for resolving a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, where there has been a surge in asylum seekers, during an election year. The Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is trying to make the border an election issue.

The $95 billion in total funding includes about $61 billion for Ukraine (with much of the funding going toward resupplying American munitions); US$26 billion for Israel; $8 billion for US allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan; and $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in war zones such as Haiti, Sudan and Gaza, although the package also includes a ban on direct US funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), an agency providing critical assistance to Gaza, until March 2025.

In Ukraine’s account, of the $60.7 billion, a total of about $23 billion would be used by the US to replenish its military arsenals, opening the door to future military transfers from the US to Ukraine. Another $14 billion would go to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, in which the Pentagon purchases new advanced weapons systems for the Ukrainian military directly from U.S. defense contractors.

There is also more than $11 billion to fund current U.S. military operations in the region, improving the capabilities of the Ukrainian military and promoting intelligence collaboration between Kiev and Washington, and about $8 billion in non-military assistance, how to help the government of Ukraine continue operations, including paying salaries and pensions.

Sergii Marchenko, the Ukrainian finance minister, highlighted the legislation’s provision for budget support.

“This is the extraordinary support we need to maintain financial stability and prevail,” he wrote on X.

The package largely mirrors the foreign aid proposal approved by the Senate in February, although it designates $10 billion of Ukraine’s funding as a repayable loan to appease some Republican members.

Israel’s bill includes about $4.4 billion to replenish depleted U.S. supplies given to Israel; $4 billion for missile defense, including the much-vaunted Iron Dome, and $1.2 billion for Iron Beam; and $3.5 billion to help Israel buy weapons. There are also provisions to facilitate the supply to Israel of US munitions held in other countries.

The bill supporting American allies in the Asia-Pacific region, mainly Taiwan, included more than $8 billion to combat Chinese activities, about $3.3 billion for submarines and $2 billion for military assistance to Taiwan.

Another bill included a provision to force Chinese company ByteDance to sell its popular social media app TikTok, which Congress fears will give China the ability to obtain information about American citizens. That bill – the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act – also included the seizure of frozen Russian sovereign assets and further sanctions on Iran.

The approved bills will be combined into a single package to simplify the voting process in the Senate, which will need to re-approve the proposal before it can go to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

In a statement after the vote passed, Biden said: “Today, members of both parties in the House voted to advance our national security interests and send a clear message about the power of American leadership on the world stage. At this critical inflection point, they came together to answer the call of history by passing urgently needed national security legislation that I fought for months to secure.

“This package will provide critical support to Israel and Ukraine; provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and other places affected by conflict and natural disasters around the world; and enhance security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. It comes at a time of great urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran and Ukraine under continued bombing from Russia.” He called on the Senate to quickly pass the bill “so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet its urgent battlefield needs.”

Simply bringing the bills to a vote required Johnson to seek help from Democrats across the aisle. The procedural vote to bring it to the floor was 316 to 94, with 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans supporting the motion.

Johnson’s reliance on Democratic votes to pass key pieces of legislation, including a major government funding bill that passed the House last month, has outraged some far-right Republicans.

“What else did Johnson reveal as he begged Democrats for votes and protection?” Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican Representative from Georgia, he said on Friday at X. “We no longer have a Republican majority, our Republican president is literally controlled by the Democrats and is giving them everything they want.”

Last month, Greene introduced a motion to remove Johnson as speaker of the House, although she has not yet moved to force a vote on the matter. Last week, two more House Republicans — Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona — signed on as cosponsors.

Democrats have said they may support Johnson in any far-right Republican effort to remove him over aid to Ukraine.

Speaking on Capitol Hill earlier this week, Johnson said providing aid to Ukraine was “extremely important” and “the right thing” despite the potential power of his opponents to oust him in yet another internal party coup.

“I really believe in the information and the briefings that we received,” Johnson said. “I believe that Xi and Vladimir Putin and Iran are truly an axis of evil. I think they are coordinated on this. I think Vladimir Putin would continue to march Europe.

“I’m going to allow each member of the House to vote their conscience and their will,” he said, adding, “I’m willing to take a personal risk for this, because we have to do the right thing. . And history will judge us.”

So far, the US has sent Ukraine about $111 billion in weapons, equipment, humanitarian assistance and other aid since the war began more than two years ago.