The House of Representatives immediately agreed $95 billion in development aidFor Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a rare Saturday meeting, Democrats and Republicans united over renewed American support for defense after months of political unrest Russia’s invasion.
With overwhelming support, the $61 billion in aid to Ukraine represented a powerful show of American support as lawmakers move to offer the war-torn ally a brand new round of U.S. support. Some lawmakers cheered within the House of Representatives and waved blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.
The unusual process, by which each bill had its own vote, allowed unique coalitions to form across the bills and advance them. The entire package can be sent to the Senate, where passage is sort of assured in the approaching days. President Joe Biden has promised to sign it immediately.
“We’ve done our job here, and I think history will judge it well,” said embattled Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who’s risking his own job to get the package passed.
Biden, in an announcement, thanked Johnson, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers “who voted to put our national security first.”
“I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet its urgent battlefield needs,” the president said .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was grateful to each parties within the House of Representatives and “personally grateful to Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that puts history on the right track,” he said on X.
“Thank you, America!” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
The scene over the weekend was a shocking example of congressional motion after months of dysfunction and stalemate fueled by Republicans, who, while in the bulk, are deeply divided over foreign aid, particularly to Ukraine, which opposes the invasion Russia is fighting. Johnson relied on Democratic support to make sure the military and humanitarian package won approval.
The morning began with a somber and serious debate and an unusual sense of purpose as Republican and Democratic leaders joined together to call for quick approval, saying it will make sure the United States supported its allies and led on the world stage stayed. The visitor galleries of the home 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, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
The House’s passage removed the most important hurdle to Biden’s funding request, first made in October when Ukraine’s military supplies were running low. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives struggled for months over what to do. It first demanded that any support be tied to policy changes within the U.S.-Mexico agreement, but then immediately rejected a bipartisan Senate offer along those lines.
Reaching a final was a torturous climb for Johnson That has tested each his resolve and his support amongst Republicans, with a small but growing number now openly pushing for his removal as speaker. Still, congressional leaders portrayed the vote as a turning point in history – an urgent sacrifice as U.S. allies are beset by wars and threats from continental Europe to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.
“Sometimes, when you live in history like today, you don’t understand the importance of the votes we take in this House and the impact they will have later,” the New York representative said. Gregory Meeks, the highest Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “This is a historic moment.”
Opponents, particularly the far-right Republicans in Johnson’s majority, argued that the U.S. should concentrate on the house front and address securing its internal borders and the country’s mounting debt burden, and warned against spending more cash, most of which fits to American defense manufacturers . to supply weapons which are used abroad.
Nevertheless, the Congress has seen a stream of heads of state and government from all over the world in recent months Zelensky to the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidaand practically begged the legislature to approve the help. Around the world, the delay left many doubting America’s commitment to its allies.
Also at stake is one among Biden’s top foreign policy priorities – containing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advances in Europe. After quiet talks with Johnson, the president quickly endorsed Johnson’s plan, paving the best way for rare support from Democrats to beat 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 threatened,” Jeffries said throughout the debate.
While aid to Ukraine is prone to discover a majority in each parties, a big variety of progressive Democrats are expected to vote against the bill supporting Israel as they call for an end to the bombing of the Gaza Strip, which has killed 1000’s of civilians .
At the identical time, Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has played a big role within the fight, speaking from afar via social media statements and direct phone calls to lawmakers as he uses his “America First” approach to show the GOP right into a more isolationist one Attitude tends to be “brand of politics.”
Ukraine’s defense once enjoyed strong, bipartisan support in Congress, but because the war enters its third 12 months, much of Republicans are against further aid. Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., offered an amendment to zero out the cash, nevertheless it was defeated.
At one point, Trump’s opposition essentially doomed the bipartisan Senate border security proposal. Last week, Trump also made a social media post questioning why European nations weren’t giving Ukraine more cash, although he spared Johnson from criticism and said Ukraine’s survival was vital.
Still, the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus has derided the bill as an “America Last” foreign war package and urged lawmakers to defy Republican leadership and oppose it since the bills don’t provide border security measures.
Johnson’s grip on the speaker’s gavel has also weakened in recent days, with three Republicans led by Greene supporting a “resignation motion” that may lead to a vote to remove the speaker. Backed by far-right figures, she can be joined by a growing variety of lawmakers, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who’s urging Johnson to resign voluntarily, and Paul Gosar, R-Arizona.
The package includes several Republican priorities that Democrats support or are at the least willing to just accept. These include proposals that may allow the U.S. to seize frozen assets of the Russian central bank to rebuild Ukraine; impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organizations that traffic in fentanyl; And laws to require the China-based owner of popular video app TikTok to sell its stake inside a 12 months or face a ban within the United States.
Still, the vigorous push to push the bills through Congress reflects not only politics but additionally the truth on the bottom in Ukraine. Top lawmakers on national security committees, aware of confidential briefings, have develop into deeply concerned in regards to the situation in recent weeks. Russia is increasingly using satellite-guided glide bombs that allow planes to drop them from protected distances to knock down Ukrainian forces under attack Lack of troops And ammunition.
