The US Senate passed an aid package for Ukraine and Israel, starting a showdown in the House of Representatives.
The US Senate on Tuesday, February 13, finally supported a bill to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel in the amount of $95.3 billion (Kyiv will receive more than 60 billion). The package includes military support for both countries and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
The document has now been sent to the House of Representatives. The speaker of this body, Mike Johnson, has already criticized the bill and it remains unclear whether he will put it to a vote in the near future, since many Republicans in the House of Representatives oppose further support for Ukraine .
How they were able to “push” the document through the Senate
The bill passed the Senate despite opposition from Mike Johnson and former President Donald Trump. The latter said he opposed the document, arguing that the United States should stop giving foreign aid unless it is in the form of a loan.
However, today the Senate voted 63 votes in favor of the foreign aid package. Even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell supported him.
“History settles all accounts. And now, at the cost of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate ignored it,” McConnell said after the vote.
As a reminder, the bill includes $60 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, $14.1 billion for security assistance to Israel, $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid and $4.8 billion to support regional partners in the region of Indo-Pacific .
Zelensky’s reaction
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated the Senate’s decision, thanking Senate Democratic and Republican leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and “every US senator who supported continued assistance to Ukraine as we fight for freedom, democracy and values that are important to all of us.”
“For us in Ukraine, continued US aid helps save lives from Russian terror. It means life will continue in our cities… American aid brings a just peace to Ukraine and restoring global stability, which will promote greater security and prosperity for all. Americans and the entire free world,” Zelensky said.
Opposition in the House of Representatives
The Senate passed the measure today after Republicans last week blocked a broader bill that would have included foreign aid in a bipartisan border deal. Republicans initially demanded that border security be part of the package but later rejected it amid pressure from Trump and top House Republicans.
Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer congratulated today’s passage of the legislation: “It’s been years, maybe decades, since the Senate passed a bill that has such profound effects not only on our national security, not only on the security of our allies. , but generally to the security of the West.” democracy.”
“I believe that if Speaker Michael Johnson brings this bill to the House floor, it will pass with equally strong bipartisan support,” Schumer said.
Johnson himself has criticized the foreign aid bill for its lack of border provisions, saying the Senate “needs to go back to the drawing board to amend the current bill to include real border security provisions that actually help end the current disaster.”
“The House has to find a way forward and they have to do it their own way, but we have to start the process and we did,” Senate GOP spokesman John Thune told reporters Tuesday.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.