The Senate is scheduled to reconvene in Washington on Tuesday to consider a $95 billion war aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The package, which has already been approved by the House of Representatives, represents the final step in the legislative process before it reaches President Joe Biden’s desk. The aid package includes $61 billion for Ukraine, which is facing a desperate need for firepower as Russian President Vladimir Putin intensifies attacks. Ukrainian soldiers have struggled to maintain control of front lines, resulting in the loss of significant territory. President Biden assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday that the U.S. will provide air defense weaponry. The House approved the package on Saturday in a series of four votes, sending it back to the Senate for final approval. “The President has assured me that the package will be approved quickly and that it will be powerful, strengthening our air defense as well as long-range and artillery capabilities,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. Additionally, the legislation provides $26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel, including humanitarian relief for Gaza citizens. It also allocates $8 billion to counter China in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region. In an effort to secure more votes, Republicans in the House added a provision to the package that could ban the social media app TikTok in the U.S. if its Chinese owners do not divest their stake within a year. The foreign aid portion of the bill is largely similar to what the Senate passed in February, with some minor changes and additions. These include the TikTok provision and a stipulation that $9 billion of the economic assistance to Ukraine be in the form of “forgivable loans.” The package has enjoyed wide-ranging congressional support since President Biden initially requested the funds last summer. However, congressional leaders encountered strong resistance from a growing number of conservatives who question U.S. involvement in foreign wars and argue that Congress should prioritize addressing the surge in migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. The emerging divide within the GOP between conservative skeptics and more traditional “Reagan-era” Republicans who strongly support the aid could have significant implications for the careers of top Republican leaders. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who has made the Ukraine aid a top priority, announced last month that he would step down from leadership due to increasing distance from his conference members on this and other issues. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who brought the bills to the floor after seeking guidance through prayer, faces threats of removal after a majority of Republicans voted against them. McConnell emphasized the importance of stopping Putin and expressed his willingness to expend his political capital on the issue. “The national security of the United States depends on the willingness of its leaders to build, sustain, and exercise hard power,” McConnell stated after the House passage on Saturday, adding, “I make no apology for taking these linked threats seriously or for urging the Biden administration and my colleagues in Congress to do the same.” Johnson asserted after the House passage that “we did our work here, and I think history will judge it well.” The Senate could approve the aid package as early as Tuesday afternoon if senators reach an agreement on the timing of the vote. If Republican opponents choose to delay the process, final votes could potentially occur on Wednesday. The legislation initially passed the Senate in February by a wide margin of 70-29 and could receive even more votes this time around following the inclusion of the loan provisions by the House. The concept of loans originated with former President Donald Trump, who had previously opposed the aid. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a long-standing GOP hawk who voted against the bill in February due to its lack of provisions addressing border migration, praised Johnson after the vote and indicated his support this time around. “The idea that the United States will be safer if we pull the plug on our friends and allies overseas is wrong,” he remarked on X. The revised House package also incorporated several Republican priorities that were acceptable to Democrats in order to secure passage. These include proposals allowing the U.S. to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to rebuild Ukraine, impose sanctions on fentanyl traffickers in Iran, Russia, China, and criminal organizations, and potentially ban TikTok in the U.S. if the owner, ByteDance Ltd., does not divest its ownership. This bill enjoys broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Opponents in the Senate, as in the House, are likely to include some left-leaning senators who oppose providing aid to Israel, particularly in light of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians. Vermont Senators Bernie Sanders, an independent, and Peter Welch, a Democrat, both voted against the package in February. “This bill provides Netanyahu $10 billion more in unrestricted military aid for his horrific war against the Palestinian people,” Sanders stated on X prior to the vote. “That is unconscionable.” Stay informed about trending stories at Scrippsnews.com.
Senate Poised to Approve $95B War Aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan
