US Senate approves long-delayed $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

In an early vote on the morning of February 13, the US Senate approved $95.3 billion in foreign aid, including aid for Israel and war-torn Ukraine. Other priorities in the foreign aid package include billions of dollars in security assistance for Israel, humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine, and support for Kiev. The legislation will now be introduced to the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans, where there is less chance it will be passed into law. US Speaker Mike Johnson has condemned this bill.

More than a dozen Republicans voted in favor of the package, which passed 70–29, with almost all Democrats present and supporters claiming that leaving Ukraine could give Russian President Vladimir Putin more confidence and threaten international national security. may be in danger. Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said it might have been decades since the Senate passed a bill. This has great implications not only for our national security, not only for the security of our allies, but for the security of Western democracies. Worked closely with GOP leader Mitch McConnell on legislation.

What will happen next?

However, the package’s future in the House is quite doubtful as conservative Republicans who support former President Donald Trump – the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination and opponent of aid to Ukraine – oppose the proposal. Speaker Johnson expressed fresh doubts about the package in a statement Monday evening, saying Congress may not send the measure to President Joe Biden’s desk for weeks or months.