{"id":3136,"date":"2024-02-13T11:30:56","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T15:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3136"},"modified":"2024-02-13T11:30:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T15:30:58","slug":"package-for-ukraine-and-israel-but-fate-in-the-house-is-uncertain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3136","title":{"rendered":"package for Ukraine and Israel, but fate in the House is uncertain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Senate early Tuesday passed a $95.3 billion aid package<\/a> for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, pushing ahead after months of difficult negotiations and amid growing political divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote came after a small group of Republicans opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, using the final hours of debate to argue that the U.S. should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas. But 22 Republicans voted with nearly all Democrats to pass the package 70-29, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten national security across the globe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith this bill, the Senate declares that American leadership will not waiver, will not falter, will not fail,\u201d said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who worked closely with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill\u2019s passage through the Senate with a flourish of GOP support was a welcome sign for Ukraine amid critical\u00a0shortages on the battlefield<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the package faces a deeply uncertain future in the House, where hardline Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump \u2014 the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, and a critic of support for Ukraine \u2014 oppose the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaker Mike Johnson cast new doubt<\/a> on the package in a statement Monday evening, making clear that it could be weeks or months before Congress sends the legislation to President Joe Biden\u2019s desk \u2014 if at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the vote was a win for both Senate leaders. Schumer said the strong bipartisan support should pressure Johnson to advance the bill. McConnell has made Ukraine his top priority in recent months, and was resolute in the face of\u00a0considerable pushback<\/a>\u00a0from his own GOP conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking directly to his detractors, the longtime Republican leader said in a statement, \u201cHistory settles every account. And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dollars provided by the legislation would purchase U.S.-made defense equipment, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say are desperately needed as Russia batters the country. It also includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor us in Ukraine, continued US assistance helps to save human lives from Russian terror,\u201d Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media. \u201cIt means that life will continue in our cities and will triumph over war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the legislation would provide $14 billion for Israel\u2019s war with Hamas, $8 billion for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progressive lawmakers have objected to sending offensive weaponry to Israel, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont, as well as two Democrats, Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Peter Welch of Vermont, voted against it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cannot in good conscience support sending billions of additional taxpayer dollars for Prime Minister Netanyahu\u2019s military campaign in Gaza,\u201d Welch said. \u201cIt\u2019s a campaign that has killed and wounded a shocking number of civilians. It\u2019s created a massive humanitarian crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill\u2019s passage followed almost five months of torturous negotiations over an expansive bill that would have paired the foreign aid with an overhaul of border and asylum policies. Republicans demanded the trade-off, saying the surge of migration into the United States had to be addressed alongside the security of allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a bipartisan deal on border security fell apart<\/a> just days after its unveiling, a head-spinning development that left negotiators deeply frustrated. Republicans declared the bill insufficient and blocked it<\/a> on the Senate floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the deal collapsed, the two leaders abandoned the border provisions and pushed forward with passing the foreign aid package alone \u2014 as Democrats had originally intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the slimmed-down foreign aid bill eventually won a healthy showing of GOP support, several Republicans who had previously expressed support for Ukraine voted against it. The episode further exposed divisions in the party, made more public as Trump dug in and a handful of lawmakers openly called for McConnell to step down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican, argued that the U.S. should step back from the conflict and help broker an end to it with Russia\u2019s Putin. He questioned the wisdom of continuing to fuel Ukraine\u2019s defense when Putin appears committed to fighting for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it deals with the reality that we\u2019re living in, which is they\u2019re a more powerful country, and it\u2019s their region of the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vance, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and other opponents, spent several hours on the floor railing against the aid and complaining about Senate process. They dug in their heels to delay a final vote, speaking on the floor until daybreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporters of the aid pushed back, warning that bowing to Russia would be a historic mistake with devastating consequences. They pointed out that if Putin were to attack a NATO member in Europe, the U.S. would be bound by treaty to become directly involved in the conflict \u2014 a commitment that Trump has called into question as he seeks another term in the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the House, many Republicans have opposed the aid and are unlikely to cross Trump, but some key GOP lawmakers have signaled they will push to get it passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, traveled to Ukraine last week with a bipartisan delegation and met with Zelenskyy. Turner posted on X, formerly Twitter, after the trip that \u201cI reiterated America\u2019s commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Speaker Johnson is in a tough position. A majority of his conference opposes the aid, and he is trying to lead the narrowest of majorities and avoid the fate of his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson, R-La., said in a statement Monday that because the foreign aid package lacks border security provisions, it is \u201csilent on the most pressing issue facing our country.\u201d It was the latest \u2014 and potentially most consequential \u2014 sign of opposition to the Ukraine aid from House GOP leadership, who had rejected the bipartisan border compromise as a \u201cnon-starter,\u201d contributing to its rapid demise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cAmerica deserves better than the Senate\u2019s status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Republican speaker has repeatedly pointed to a sweeping set of hardline immigration measures passed by the House last year<\/a>. But that legislation has gained no Democratic support \u2014 essentially dooming it in the politically-split Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schumer at a news conference called on Johnson to put the foreign aid package on the House floor, saying it would pass with \u201cstrong bipartisan support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the hard right kills this bill, it would be an enormous gift to Vladimir Putin,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cIt would be a betrayal of our partners and allies and an abandonment of our service members.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat, traveled to Kyiv last week with Turner and other House members. She said the trip underscored to her how Ukraine is still in a fight for its very existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a meeting with Zelenskyy, she said the U.S. lawmakers tried to offer assurances that the American people still stand with his country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was clear that our continued support is critical to their ability to win the war,\u201d Spanberger said. \u201cIt\u2019s critical to their own freedom. And importantly, it\u2019s critical to U.S. national security interests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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