WASHINGTON — The House voted 316-94 to move forward with a vote on four separate bills that include aid to Ukraine and Israel, a good sign for the prospects of Congress approving U.S. funding for the two countries after months of of delay and partisan fights.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, facing intense opposition from right-wing members, received crucial help from Democrats to move forward with the votes. More Democrats (165) than Republicans (151) voted to approve the “rule,” a procedural step to set up the vote.
The measure generates four votes in the House that are expected on Saturday afternoon: one on aid to Israel, another on aid to Ukraine, another on Indo-Pacific security and a fourth bill that includes a bill aimed at to ban TikTok in the US if it doesn’t divest its China-based owner, as well as several national security priorities. If approved, the measures will be grouped together and sent to the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Taken together, the foreign aid measures closely resemble the $95 billion national security package promoted by President Joe Biden. The Senate would have to approve it again, due to some differences with the version approved by the Upper Chamber in February.
“The world is watching what Congress does. Passing this legislation would send a powerful message about the strength of American leadership at a crucial time,” the White House budget office said in a statement Friday endorsing the House package . “The administration urges both chambers of Congress to quickly get this supplemental funding package to the president’s desk.”
The House decision followed a 9-3 vote in the Rules Committee on Thursday night to send the bills to the floor for a final vote, with Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Chip Roy, R-Texas and Ralph Norman, R-C., breaking with Johnson to vote against. But all four Democrats on the committee voted in favor of the rule and rescued it, an extremely unusual move for the minority party.
“We only control one chamber, and I barely have control of it,” Johnson said Thursday on Newsmax, explaining why he couldn’t include GOP immigration measures in the package, as some wanted. “The Senate will not advance our legislation and the president will not sign it… I have at least a handful of my Republicans who will not introduce a rule to bring this to the floor to combine it with Ukraine and Israel funding. They they won’t do that. And so if I don’t have Republican votes, that means we have to have Democratic votes.
Johnson’s decision to move forward with the bills comes as two of his members — Massie and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. – threaten to remove him from his position as speaker. They and many other House conservatives oppose additional aid to Ukraine.
“We’ll see what happens. I’m going to do my job. I’m not deterred by threats,” Johnson said Friday. “We’re going to do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may.”
But Johnson, who opposed aid to Ukraine last year before becoming speaker of the House, now says he believes the aid is “extremely important” based on the information and information he has received since then.
“I think Vladimir Putin would continue to march across Europe if he were allowed,” he told reporters this week.
“I’d rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys,” Johnson said, adding that his son will enter the Naval Academy this fall. “This is a live-fire exercise for me, as it is for many American families. This is not a game, this is not a joke.”
The fourth bill includes a provision to force China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok within nine months, which the president could extend to a year, or face a ban in the US. The provision, which has the support of the Senate, as well as the support of Biden, puts TikTok closer than ever to a ban in the country.
Democrats praised the decision to proceed with votes in the Chamber, highlighting the fundamental role of their party.
“It is vital that Congress act to send assistance to support Ukraine and fend off Russian aggression,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said on X. “We may be in the minority, but we will not allow this urgent mission to fail. Democrats are doing whatever it takes to make sure Ukraine gets help.”
Rep. Grace Meng, DN.Y., he said Democrats were effectively in charge: “We may be in the minority in the House now, but @RepJeffries is already essentially functioning as the real Speaker of the House. they. Working horses and not just show horses.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
