After months of going back and forth on funding Ukraine and Israel, the Senate passed an aid bill early Tuesday morning with a vote of 70-29. Along with most of their Democratic counterparts, 22 Senate Republicans decided to vote for the funding package.
🚨Update: DEAD ON ARRIVAL!! Senate War Funding Bill will be shelved in the House!! U.S. Senate passes a $95 billion War Funding bill for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan without any border security provisions while most Americans are still asleep! The House Speaker vowed to shelve the… pic.twitter.com/MEXTBFMuhK
— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) February 13, 2024
The package was passed after an overnight effort by Senate Republicans on the floor speaking out against it.
The $95.3 billion package included $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion to assist Israel in its fight against the terrorist group Hamas, $9 billion for humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank and $5 billion for U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific.
While the 22 Senate Republicans voted for the bill, despite its lack of border reform, the remaining Republicans stood their ground in refusing to vote for the bill, which did not include funding to secure the southern border, which has been in chaos the past few months.
“We ought to be taking care of America’s problems before we take care of the world’s problems,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) also took the floor, stating that the bill would not be passed in the House.
“The bill before us today … will never pass in the House, will never become law,” he said in an early morning speech on the House floor.
The bill will now head to the House, where House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) confirmed Scott’s assertion in the Senate about it not being passed by the House. Johnson mentioned on many occasions that it will not be considered if a border bill is not addressed.
“The mandate of national security supplemental legislation was to secure America’s own border before sending additional foreign aid around the world. It is what the American people demand and deserve,” Johnson declared in a statement released Monday night.
“Now, in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters.”
My statement on Senate’s failure to address the most critical aspect of national security supplemental legislation: pic.twitter.com/ENjJ0WzKsK
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 13, 2024
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden urged House Republicans to pass the bill on Tuesday, stating that opposing the bill “is playing into Putin’s hands.” Biden has pushed the bill for months to provide funding to Ukraine in its efforts to fend off Russia.
