The Senate passed a long-delayed $95 billion bill Tuesday with broad bipartisan support, after both sides of the Capitol struggled for months to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The final vote was 79 to 18. Fifteen Republicans voted against the bill along with three Democrats. Forty-eight Democrats and 31 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
The legislation now goes to President Joe Biden to sign, as he promised. Its passage marks a significant victory for the US president, congressional Democrats and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has long pushed to send aid to Ukraine even as the right wing of his party has increasingly cooled to the idea of supporting Kyiv.
Just before final passage, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began his brief remarks by saying “finally, finally, finally.”
“Tonight, may Vladimir Putin regret the day he questioned American resolve,” he said.
The bill brings together four bills that the House voted on separately in a rare Saturday session, providing nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, more than $26 billion to Israel and more of 8 billion dollars to the Pacific. The first three bills are very similar to the package the Senate passed earlier this year, which House Speaker Mike Johnson initially refused to bring to the House for a vote.
The fourth bill strengthens sanctions against Russian assets and contains provisions that could result in a ban on TikTok in the United States. It gives Chinese parent company ByteDance about nine months to sell TikTok or the app will be banned from U.S. app stores.
Biden applauded the Senate’s passage of the bill in a written statement.
“I will sign this bill and address the American people as soon as it hits my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week,” Biden said. “The need is urgent: for Ukraine, facing incessant bombardment from Russia; for Israel, which has just suffered unprecedented attacks from Iran; for refugees and those impacted by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including Gaza, Sudan and Haiti; and for our partners seeking security and stability in the Pacific. »
The president also thanked Schumer, McConnell and the bipartisan group of lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill.
“This critical legislation will make our nation and the world safer as we support our friends who defend themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin,” Biden said.
The House took up the bill after Johnson defied conservatives in his party who opposed sending aid to Ukraine and threatened to impeach him over his handling of the issue. Ultimately, the legislation passed by a wide bipartisan margin in the House.
Aid to Ukraine and Israel was blocked after House and Senate Republicans first demanded action on border security, leading to months of Senate negotiations over a package border measures linked to foreign aid. However, former President Donald Trump led opposition to the latest deal, and Republicans ultimately abandoned it.
McConnell, who has regularly broken with his party over support for Ukraine, described Tuesday’s vote as “overdue” and “a test, and we must not miss it.”
“Here’s what I know to be true: American prosperity and security are the product of decades of American leadership,” McConnell said. “Our global interests come with global responsibilities. Strong alliances ease the burden of these responsibilities. »
Schumer took a victory after the passage of foreign aid legislation.
“We can get things done and I hope our Republican colleagues have learned this lesson, not to listen to the far right, but to try to work and get things done,” said the New York Democrat during a press conference.
Schumer defended not allowing amendments — including one from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — to come up for a vote, saying, “We needed to get this bill passed as quickly as possible. »
Along the same lines, Schumer defended adding legislation targeting TikTok.
“The Speaker of the House included it in the bill — in the big supplemental bill, and we needed to get the supplemental bill passed as quickly as possible,” he said.
He also said he left a message for the Ukrainian president after the vote.
“I left a message for President Zelensky this evening – he had called me the other day – and I said, ‘Okay, we did it. Now go win the fight,’” Schumer said.
Asked how long the funding to Ukraine will last and when he thinks they’ll need to come back for more, Schumer said, “It’s a very comprehensive package” as he left the room.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the Senate’s passage of the foreign aid bill.
“I am grateful to the U.S. Senate for today approving lifesaving aid to Ukraine,” he said in a message on X on Tuesday.
The legislation underscores U.S. support for Ukraine, Zelensky said, adding that the aid will strengthen the country’s defense and military capabilities on the battlefield.
“This vote reinforces America’s role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world,” he said. “Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, artillery and air defense are essential tools to restore a just peace more quickly.”
