House approves $95 billion aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

WASHINGTON – The House voted resoundingly on Saturday to approve $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., put his job on the line to advance the long-stalled aid package by marshaling support from mainstream Republicans and Democrats.

In four back-to-back votes, overwhelming bipartisan coalitions of lawmakers approved fresh rounds of funding for the three U.S. allies, as well as another bill meant to sweeten the deal for conservatives that could result in a nationwide ban of TikTok.

The scene on the House floor reflected both the broad support in Congress for continuing to help the Ukrainian military beat back Russia, and the extraordinary political risk taken by Johnson to defy the anti-interventionist wing of his party, which had sought to thwart the measure. Minutes before the vote on assistance for Ukraine, Democrats began to wave small Ukrainian flags on the House floor, as hard-right Republicans jeered.

The legislation includes $60 billion for Ukraine; $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including the Gaza Strip; and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region. It would direct the president to seek repayment from the Ukrainian government of $10 billion in economic assistance, a concept supported by former President Donald Trump, who had pushed for any aid to Ukraine to be in the form of a loan. But it also would allow the president to forgive those loans starting in 2026.

It also contained a measure to help pave the way to selling off frozen Russian sovereign assets to help fund the Ukrainian war effort, and a new round of sanctions on Iran. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation as early as Tuesday and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk, capping its tortured journey through Congress.

“Our adversaries are working together to undermine our Western values and demean our democracy,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Saturday as the House debated the measure. “We cannot be afraid at this moment. We have to do what’s right. Evil is on the march. History is calling and now is the time to act.

“History will judge us by our actions here today. As we deliberate on this vote, you have to ask yourself this question: ‘Am I Chamberlain or Churchill?’ ”

The vote was 311-112 in favor of the aid to Ukraine, with a majority of Republicans – 112 – voting against it and one, Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, voting “present.” The House approved assistance to Israel 366-58, and to Taiwan 385-34 with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., voting “present.” The bill to impose sanctions on Iran and require the sale of TikTok by its Chinese owner or ban the app in the United States passed 360-58.

For months, it had been uncertain whether Congress would approve new funding for Ukraine, even as momentum shifted in Moscow’s favor. That prompted a wave of anxiety in Kyiv and in Europe that the United States, the single biggest provider of military aid to Ukraine, would turn its back on the young democracy.

And it raised questions about whether the political turmoil that has roiled the United States had effectively destroyed what has long been a strong bipartisan consensus in favor of projecting American values around the world. The last time Congress approved a major tranche of funding to Ukraine was in 2022, before Republicans took control of the House.

With an “America First” sentiment gripping the party’s voter base, led by Trump, Republicans dug in last year against another aid package for Ukraine, saying the matter should not even be considered unless Biden agreed to stringent anti-immigration measures.

When Senate Democrats agreed this year to legislation that paired the aid with stiffer border enforcement provisions, Trump denounced it and Republicans rejected it out of hand.

But after the Senate passed its own $95 billion emergency aid legislation for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan without any immigration measures, Johnson began – first privately, then loudly – telling allies that he would ensure the U.S. would send aid to Ukraine.

In the end, even in the face of an ouster threat from ultraconservative members, he circumvented the hard-line contingent of lawmakers that once was his political home and relied on Democrats to push the measure through. It was a remarkable turnabout for a right-wing lawmaker who voted repeatedly against aid to Ukraine as a rank-and-file member, and as recently as a couple of months ago declared he would never allow the matter to come to a vote until his party’s border demands were met.

In the days leading up to the vote, Johnson began forcefully making the case that it was Congress’ role to help Ukraine fend off the advances of an authoritarian. Warning that Russian forces could march through the Baltics and Poland if Ukraine falls, Johnson said he had made the decision to advance aid to Kyiv because he “would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys.”

“History judges us for what we do,” he told reporters at the Capitol this past week. “This is a critical time right now. I could make a selfish decision and do something that’s different. But I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing. I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important.”

Johnson structured the measures, which were sent to the Senate as one bill, to capture different coalitions of support without allowing opposition to any one element to defeat the whole thing.

“I’m going to allow an opportunity for every single member of the House to vote their conscience and their will,” he had said.

In a nod to right-wing demands, Johnson allowed a vote just before the foreign aid bills on a stringent border enforcement measure, but it was defeated after failing to reach the two-thirds majority needed for passage. And the speaker refused to link the immigration bill to the foreign aid package, knowing that would effectively kill the spending plan.

His decision to advance the package infuriated the ultraconservatives in his conference who accused Johnson of reneging on his promise not to allow a vote on foreign aid without first securing sweeping policy concessions on the southern border. It prompted two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona to join a bid by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to oust Johnson from the top job.

One by one, furious Republicans took to the House floor Saturday to register their ire at the speaker.

Greene, who is leading the effort to depose Johnson, attempted Saturday to advance an amendment to the aid package to essentially eliminate funding for Ukraine, claiming the legislation supported “a business model built on blood and murder and war in foreign countries.”

“We should be funding to build up our weapons and ammunition, not to send it over to foreign countries,” she said in arguing for her proposal, which failed by a vote of 351-71.

Much of the funding for Ukraine in the aid package is earmarked to replenish U.S. stockpiles after shipping supplies to Kyiv.

Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Congress has appropriated $113 billion in funding to support Ukraine’s war effort – $75 billion was directly allocated to the country for humanitarian, financial and military support, and another $38 billion in security assistance-related funding was spent largely in the United States, according to the Institute for Study of War, a Washington-based research group.

Hard-right Republican opposition to the legislation – both on the House floor and in the crucial Rules panel – forced Johnson to rely on Democrats to push the legislation across the finish line.

“If Ukraine does not receive this support that it requires to defeat Russia’s outrageous assault on its sovereign territory, the legacy of this Congress will be the appeasement of a dictator, the destruction of an allied nation and a fractured Europe,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “Gone will be our credibility, in the eyes of our allies and of our adversaries. And gone will be the America that promised to stand up for freedom, democracy, and human rights, wherever they are threatened or wherever they are under attack.”

Thirty-seven liberal Democrats opposed the $26 billion aid package for Israel because the legislation placed no conditions on how Israel could use U.S. funding, amid scores of civilian casualties and an imminent famine in Gaza. That was a relatively small sliver of opposition given that left-wing lawmakers had pressed their colleagues to vote “no” on the bill to send a message to Biden about the depth of opposition within his political coalition to his backing for Israel’s tactics in the war.

“Sending more weapons to the Netanyahu government will make the U.S. even more responsible for atrocities and the horrific humanitarian crisis in Gaza which is now in a season of famine,” said Rep. Jonathan L. Jackson, D-Ill. “The United States Congress must be the moral compass. I continue to call for the release of all prisoners and hostages. I continue to pray and work for peace, security, and stability.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.