A view of the US Capitol.
Chip Somodevilla | beautiful images
The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives will vote on Saturday and is expected to pass one Legislative package worth $95 billion providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in the face of fierce opposition from party hardliners.
It's been more than two months since the Democratic-majority Senate passed a similar measure and U.S. leaders from Democratic President Joe Biden to the top Republican in the Senate Mitch McConnell both urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it to a vote.
This week, Johnson chose to ignore threats of overthrow by hard-line members of his divided 218-213 majority and pushed through a measure that included about $60.84 billion for Ukraine as it struggles against Russia's two-year invasion.
The unusual four-bill package also includes grants to Israel, security assistance to Taiwan and its allies in the Indo-Pacific and a measure that includes sanctions, threatening bans. Chinese-owned social media app TikTok and possible transfer of confiscated Russian assets. to Ukraine.
“The world is watching what Congress does,” the White House said in a statement Friday. “Passage of this legislation will send a strong message about the strength of American leadership at a critical time. The Administration calls on both houses of Congress to promptly send this supplemental funding package to the desks of the United States.” President.”
A 316-94 bipartisan majority of the House on Friday voted to put the bill to a vote, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told senators to be ready to work into the weekend if it passes. The House passed as expected.
“It's not perfect legislation, it's not the legislation we would write if Republicans were in power in both the House, the Senate and the White House,” Johnson told reporters on Friday. “This is the best possible product that we could get under these circumstances to fulfill these really important obligations.”
Some hard-line Republicans have spoken out strongly against continued aid to Ukraine, with some saying the United States is unlikely to be able to repay its growing $34 trillion national debt. increase. They have repeatedly threatened to oust Johnson, who became president in October after his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted by party hard-liners.
Representative Bob Good, chairman of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, told reporters on Friday that the bills represent a “slide into the abyss of the larger financial crisis and the final policies.” America's bottom line reflects Biden, Schumer and (House Democratic leader Hakeem) Jeffries, and not the American people.”
But Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has great influence in the party, on April 12 spoke out in support of Johnson and in a social media post on Thursday said the survival of Ukraine was is important to America.
The bills provide $60.84 billion to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, including $23 billion for additional U.S. weapons, stockpiles and facilities; $26 billion for Israel, including $9.1 billion for humanitarian needs and $8.12 billion for the Indo-Pacific.
