The Senate is poised to take final action on a $95 billion war aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan on Tuesday, bringing months of congressional debate over the extent of U.S. involvement abroad to a close.
The legislation, which has already passed the House of Representatives, includes $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, and $8 billion for Taiwan. The aid to Ukraine is particularly critical as the country faces escalating Russian attacks, with soldiers struggling to hold the front lines and Russia seizing significant territory.
President Biden has assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. will soon send badly needed air defense weaponry. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the support, stating that the package will strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, long-range, and artillery capabilities.
The legislation also includes a provision to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to rebuild Ukraine, impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China, and criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl, and potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owner does not sell its stake within a year.
Despite broad congressional support for the aid package, a growing number of conservative Republicans have expressed opposition, questioning the U.S.’s involvement in foreign wars and arguing that Congress should instead focus on domestic issues. This growing fault line within the GOP has the potential to impact the careers of top Republican leaders.
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who has made the Ukraine aid a top priority, has warned that he would step down from leadership after becoming increasingly distanced from many in his conference on the issue. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who put the bills on the floor after praying for guidance, faces threats of an ouster after a majority of Republicans voted against them.
McConnell has emphasized the importance of stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin to justify the aid, while Johnson expressed confidence that history will judge the House’s decision favorably.
The Senate could pass the aid package, now combined back into one bill, as soon as Tuesday afternoon. If Republicans who oppose the legislation decide to protest and draw out the process, final votes would likely be Wednesday. The legislation was first passed by the Senate in February on a sweeping 70-29 vote, and it could get even more votes this time after the House added in the loan provisions.
Revised House package included several Republican priorities that were acceptable to Democrats to get the bill passed. Those include proposals that allow the U.S. to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to rebuild Ukraine; impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl; and could eventually ban TikTok in the U.S. if the owner, ByteDance Ltd., doesn’t sell. That bill has wide bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
Opponents in the Senate, like the House, are likely to include some left-wing senators who are opposed to aiding Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has Vermont Sens. Bernie Sanders, an independent, and Peter Welch, a Democrat, both voted against the package in February.
