US House of Representatives approves huge aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

Washington:

The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved, with broad bipartisan support, a $95 billion legislative package that provides security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, despite bitter objections from hardline Republicans.

The legislation now heads to the Democratic-led Senate, which approved a similar measure more than two months ago. US leaders, from Democratic President Joe Biden to the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, had been urging Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring the issue to a vote.

The Senate is expected to approve the measure next week, sending it to Biden to sign into law.

The bills provide $60.84 billion to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, including $23 billion to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities; $26 billion for Israel, including $9.1 billion for humanitarian needs, and $8.12 billion for the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed his gratitude, saying U.S. lawmakers acted to keep “history on the right path.”

“The vital U.S. relief bill passed by the House today will stop the spread of war, save thousands upon thousands of lives, and help both our nations become stronger,” Zelenskiy said on X.

It was unclear how quickly new military funding for Ukraine would run out, likely prompting calls for further action from Congress.

Biden, who since last year has urged Congress to approve additional aid to Ukraine, said in a statement: “This comes at a time of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran and Ukraine under continued bombardment from Russia.”

The vote on approving Ukraine funding was 311-112. But significantly, 112 Republicans opposed the legislation, with just 101 supporting it.

“Mike Johnson is a lame duck…he’s done,” far-right Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters afterward.

She has been a leading opponent of aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia and has taken steps that threaten to remove Johnson from office over this issue. Greene was unable to do that on Saturday, however.

During the vote, several lawmakers waved small Ukrainian flags as it became clear that part of the package was being approved. Johnson warned lawmakers that this was a “breach of decorum.”

However, the House’s actions during a rare Saturday session showed some cracks in what is usually solid support for Israel within Congress. In recent months, we have seen progressive Democrats express anger at the Israeli government and its handling of the war in Gaza.

But Saturday’s vote, in which aid to Israel was approved 366-58, had 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans in opposition.

The passage of the long-awaited legislation was closely watched by U.S. defense contractors, who could be in line for major contracts to supply equipment to Ukraine and other U.S. partners.

This week, Johnson chose to ignore threats of expulsion by hard-line members of his 218-213 rebel majority and press ahead with the measure that includes funding Ukraine as the country struggles to combat a two-year-old Russian invasion.

The unusual package of four bills also includes a measure that includes a threat to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok and the potential transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine.

Some hard-line Republicans who have expressed strong opposition to more aid to Ukraine have argued that the United States cannot afford it, given its growing $34 billion national debt. They have repeatedly raised the threat of removing Johnson, who became speaker of the House in October after his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted by party hardliners.

“It’s not the perfect legislation, it’s not the legislation we would write if Republicans were in charge of the House, the Senate and the White House,” Johnson told reporters Friday. “This is the best possible product we can get under these circumstances to meet these really important obligations.”

Rep. Bob Good, chairman of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, told reporters Friday that the bills represent a “slide into the abyss of a larger fiscal crisis and definitive policies for America that reflect Biden and (the leader) of the Democratic Senate majority, Chuck) Schumer and (House Democratic leader Hakeem) Jeffries, and does not reflect the American people.”

But Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has enormous influence in the party, on April 12 expressed support for Johnson and, in a Thursday social media post, said Ukraine’s survival is important to the United States.

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)