Speaker Mike Johnson took a political risk to defy some Republicans and push through the foreign aid package.Credit…Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times
U.S. House passes foreign aid package
The House voted on Saturday in favor of $95 billion in long-stalled foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, resoundingly approving the funds over months of objections from Republicans on the far right. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation as early as tomorrow, and it is almost certain to become law.
As part of the package, the House also advanced a bill that would force the Chinese company ByteDance, parent of TikTok, to either sell the app or risk a nationwide ban in the U.S.
In Ukraine, the vote was met with relief as troops are swiftly running out of weapons and munitions. The Pentagon has said it could resume sending weapons to Ukraine within days.
“I really do believe the intel,” said Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, who marshaled bipartisan support to pass the bill. “I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed.”
Details: The legislation includes $60 billion for Kyiv; $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region.
