Democrats help Ukraine move forward and Israel helps with rare rule change

The House Rules Committee on Thursday night advanced a package of foreign aid bills — but only with the help of Democrats who, in a rare move, supported the procedural vote amid opposition from a trio of Republicans hard line.

The panel voted 9-3 to adopt the rule, which governs debate for the legislation, with Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (RS.C.) opposing the effort.

The successful vote allows the entire House to vote on the rule and open debate on three foreign aid bills — sending assistance to Israel, Ukraine and allies in the Indo-Pacific — plus a fourth that includes other security priorities national, such as the TikTok ban.

Votes on rules—in committees and on the floor—are typically mundane and partisan occurrences, with majority party members supporting the rule and minority party lawmakers voting against it. But with conservatives voting against the rule in opposition to aid to Ukraine and the exclusion of border security measures, Democrats reached across the aisle to support the procedural vote.

The rule for foreign aid legislation allows for voting on specific changes to Ukraine, Indo-Pacific, and national security measures. Israel’s bill, however, will not have any changes considered.

Also included in the rule is language that says that if the House approves each of the four bills – they will receive separate votes in the plenary – they will be merged and sent to the Senate as a single package.

The successful votes on the rule Thursday night mark a crucial hurdle cleared for the foreign aid package, which has faced intense criticism from hard-line Republicans since House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) , revealed the outline of his plan on Monday.

The legislation includes $26.38 billion for Israel, $60.84 billion for Ukraine and $8.12 billion for allies in the Indo-Pacific. The fourth national security bill calls for a ban on TikTok in the US if the platform’s parent company doesn’t sell it, language to send some of the new aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan, and a provision allowing the administration to use products Russians seized. assets to help cover the costs of Ukrainian reconstruction.

The bipartisan vote, however, could put Johnson in an even more difficult situation with his right flank. Hard-line conservatives have been up in arms over Johnson’s propensity to cut deals with Democrats over criticism from Republicans — a dynamic that has become necessary in the narrowly divided House but continues to anger conservatives.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to vacate — the same mechanism used to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — against Johnson late last month, but she did not say when plans to force a vote on the resolution.

Massie announced earlier this week that he would sign the legislation as a co-sponsor.

GOP leadership on Thursday also prepared a vote on a separate border bill aimed at appeasing hardliners who were frustrated that Johnson’s foreign aid package excluded provisions to resolve the situation at the southern border.

The House will consider this bill under suspension of the rules process on Friday, which eliminates the need to first pass a procedural rule but also requires two-thirds support for passage.

The leadership initially attempted to pass the bill through regular order, but opposition from conservatives on the Rules Committee thwarted these plans.