WASHINGTON — The Senate early Tuesday passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, pushing ahead after months of difficult negotiations and amid growing political divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad.
The vote came after a small group of Republicans opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, using the final hours of debate to argue that the U.S. should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas.
But 22 Republicans led by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine voted with nearly all Democrats and Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, to pass the package 70-29, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten national security across the globe.
“The world is watching to see if the United States is still the leader of the free world,” Collins said in a floor speech on Monday night.
The bill’s passage through the Senate was a welcome sign for Ukraine amid critical shortages on the battlefield. Yet the package faces a deeply uncertain future in the House, where hardline Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump — the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, and a critic of support for Ukraine — oppose the legislation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, cast new doubt on the package in a statement Monday evening. Still, the vote was a win for both Senate leaders. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, noted the strong bipartisan support and projected that if the House speaker brings it forward it would have the same strong support in that chamber.
The legislation would purchase U.S.-made defense equipment, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say are needed as Russia batters the country. It also includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance. In addition, the legislation would provide $14 billion for Israel’s war with Hamas, $8 billion for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“By providing sorely-needed aid to Ukraine as it fights for its freedom against Putin’s brutal dictatorship, we are demonstrating our commitment to freedom, sovereignty, and democracy at home and abroad,” King said in a statement.
Progressive lawmakers have objected to sending offensive weapons to Israel, and two Democrats, Sens. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Peter Welch of Vermont, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont, voted against it.
The bill’s passage followed almost five months of torturous negotiations over an expansive bill that would have paired the foreign aid with an overhaul of border and asylum policies. Republicans demanded the trade-off, saying the surge of migration into the United States had to be addressed alongside the security of allies.
But a bipartisan deal on border security fell apart just days after its unveiling, a head-spinning development that left negotiators deeply frustrated. Republicans declared the bill insufficient and blocked it on the Senate floor. After it collapsed, the two leaders pushed forward with passing the foreign aid package alone, as Democrats had originally intended.
While the slimmed-down foreign aid bill eventually won a healthy showing of GOP support, several Republicans who had previously expressed support for Ukraine voted against it. The episode further exposed divisions in the party, made more public as Trump dug in and a handful of lawmakers openly called for McConnell to step down.
Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican, argued that the U.S. should step back from the conflict and help broker an end to it with Russia’s Putin. He questioned the wisdom of continuing to fuel Ukraine’s defense when Putin appears committed to fighting for years.
“I think it deals with the reality that we’re living in, which is they’re a more powerful country, and it’s their region of the world,” he said.
Vance, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and other opponents, spent several hours on the floor railing against the aid and complaining about Senate process. They dug in their heels to delay a final vote, speaking on the floor until daybreak.
Supporters of the aid pushed back, warning that bowing to Russia would be a historic mistake with devastating consequences. In an unusually raw back-and-forth, Republican senators who support the aid challenged some of the opponents directly on the floor.
“Why am I so focused on this vote?” North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis asked. “Because I don’t want to be on the pages of history that we will regret if we walk away. You will see the alliance that is supporting Ukraine crumble. You will ultimately see China become emboldened.”
At a rally Saturday, Trump said that he had once told a NATO ally he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to members that are “delinquent” in their commitments to the alliance. The former president has led his party away from the foreign policy doctrines of aggressive American involvement overseas and toward an “America First” isolationism.
Evoking the slogan, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran said, “I believe in America first, but unfortunately America first means we have to engage in the world.”
In the House, many Republicans have opposed the aid and are unlikely to cross Trump, but some key lawmakers have signaled they will push to get it passed. It puts Johnson in a tough position. A majority of his conference opposes the aid, and he is trying to lead the narrowest of majorities and avoid the fate of his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted in October.
Johnson said in a statement Monday that because the foreign aid package lacks border security provisions, it is “silent on the most pressing issue facing our country.”
Story by Mary Clare Jalonick and Stephen Groves. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking and BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.
