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A $95bn US aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is set for a final vote on Saturday, after Democratic lawmakers backed the plan put forward by the House of Representatives’ Republican Speaker Mike Johnson.
Approval of the package, which includes $60bn for Kyiv, would come at a pivotal moment for Ukraine as it struggles to hold back Russian forces who have superior numbers and firepower.
The package of four separate bills, which also includes a crackdown on Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, needed Democrat support after dozens of Republicans voted against a procedure to take it to a final vote.
Clearing that hurdle on Friday leaves the House set for a final vote, marking a dramatic conclusion to months of wrangling over the billions of dollars of funds considered crucial to Ukraine’s military effort against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
If the House passes the bill as expected on Saturday, it will head to the Senate, where it is also likely to pass before being sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrats’ leader in the House, said on Friday that his party had “cleared the way” for the legislation, helping it overcome opposition from “pro-Putin MAGA extremists” such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia congresswoman, who he said were “recklessly” threatening putting US national security interests at risk.
“It’s long past time that we support our democratic allies in Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific and provide humanitarian assistance to civilians who are in harm’s way in theatres of conflict like Gaza, Haiti and the Sudan,” Jefferies added.
The prospect that the aid package for Kyiv could at last be authorised by Congress will bring relief among the US’s European allies, who have lobbied for months to secure more American support for Ukraine’s war effort, while they scrambled to find supplies in an attempt to fill the gap.
Kyiv has warned that its is running low on ammunition and funds to secure more weapons, just as Russian forces try to capture more territory two years into the invasion.
Approval of the aid would lift morale in Ukraine, but could also bring a swift supply of much needed arms. One western official said a significant portion of the weaponry was currently stored just across the Ukrainian border in Rzeszów, Poland.
Johnson’s legislation, and especially the $60bn in additional funding for Ukraine, remains controversial among many of his fellow Republican lawmakers. Greene has threatened to lead a rebellion to oust Johnson over the move, and has been backed by Kentucky member Thomas Massie and Arizona congressman Paul Gosar.
In a sign of how contentious the foreign aid package is, 165 Democrats voted to advance the legislation on Friday, while only 151 Republicans did. Fifty-five Republicans and 39 Democrats voted to block a final vote on the bills.
It suggests Johnson will need to rely on Democrats again on Saturday to pass the bill, given the tiny majority Republicans hold in the 435-seat House. Johnson could also need Democratic backing if Greene triggers a “motion to vacate”, a procedural move to hold a vote of no confidence in the Speaker.
On Friday, Jefferies said he stood by a previous statement that there would be a “reasonable number” of House Democrats who think the Johnson “should not fall”.
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate whose isolationist stance has been echoed in recent months by House members sceptical of more Ukraine aid, has sent mixed messages on the foreign aid bills.
Last week, Trump appeared to defend Johnson from House critics like Greene, telling reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort that the Speaker was “doing a very good job” and suggested he was open to an aid package for Ukraine.
On Thursday, the former president posted a long statement on social media calling on Europe to contribute more to Ukraine, but without clearly stating whether he was opposed to the new funding bills.
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