US House passes $61 bn Ukraine aid bill, approves $26 bn assistance to Israel

The US House of Representatives passed the $61 billion aid package for Ukraine and approved military assistance worth $26.4 billion to Israel on Saturday.

The passage of the Ukraine aid package comes after months of delays caused by the opposition from the hard-right flank of the Republican Party loyal to former President Donald Trump, who has indicated that he would pursue an isolationist foreign policy if he is reelected and could cut support to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The House passed the Ukraine aid package with a 311-112 vote while the military assistance to Israel cleared the House with a 366-58 vote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the passage of the $61 billion aid package and said it would “save thousands and thousands of lives”.

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“Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it. The vital US aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger,” said Zelenskyy in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track.

Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 20, 2024

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The House also passed a $15.3 billion aid package for Taiwan as it faces increasing aggression from China amid a looming threat of an invasion. Beijing considers the self-governing island of Taiwan as a breakaway province and is committed to its reunification with the mainland. Chinese President Xi Jinping has not ruled out the use of force for the reunification.

Moreover, the House passed a bill that would ban the social media app TikTok in the United States if its Chinese owner ByteDance would not sell it within nine months. This bill, formally called the ‘21st Century Peace through Strength Act’, also allows the US government to sale frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war efforts and further strengthen sanctions against Iran.

Upon clearing the House, the four bills would be packaged together and would be sent to the Senate, the Upper House of the US Congress. Upon clearing the Senate, the bills would go to US President Joe Bide who would sign them into law.

‘Clear message about the power of American leadership’: Biden

Biden hailed the passage of the bills as a “clear message about the power of American leadership on the world stage”.

Calling the moment a “critical inflection point”, Biden said the bills were passed “at a moment of grave urgency”.

“It comes at a moment of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine under continued bombardment from Russia. I want to thank Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, and the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in the House who voted to put our national security first,” said Biden in a statement released by the White House.

Biden further asked the Senate to clear the bill promptly so he can sign into law at the earliest. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took procedural steps on Saturday for the Senate to vote on bills on Tuesday, according to CNN.

Divisions among Republicans out in open

The passage of the Ukraine aid package brought the divisions among the House Republicans to the fore.

Despite impassioned arguments from Republicans like Speaker Mike Johnson and Michael McCaul, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the majority of the  House Republicans —112— voted against the bill and it was only because of support from the Democrats that the bill passed.

McCaul said that “the history will judge by our actions here today” as he urged the House to approve the bill.

“Our adversaries are working together to undermine our Western values and demean our democracy. We cannot be afraid at this moment. We have to do what’s right. Evil is on the march. History is calling and now is the time to act. History will judge us by our actions here today. As we deliberate on this vote, you have to ask yourself this question: ‘Am I Chamberlain or Churchill?’” said McCaul.

Our adversaries are working together to undermine western values & demean our democracy. Evil is on the march. History is calling and it is time to act.

Today, I spoke on the House floor to urge the passing of my bill the "21st Century Peace Through Strength Act."

More below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/PSczF6dCM8

— Michael McCaul (@RepMcCaul) April 20, 2024

On his part, Johnson put his job on the line to get the bills passed. At least three Republican representatives from the party’s hard-right camp have sought his ouster for putting the bills to vote.

‘We had to do the right thing, history will judge us’: Speaker Johnson

Earlier this week, invoking history, Johnson said he was doing what he believed was right by bringing the bills to the floor of the House. He added he “would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys”.

“I could make a selfish decision and do something that’s different but I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing. I think providing legal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important — I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we’ve gotten…I’m willing to take personal risk for that because we have to do the right thing and history will judge us,” said Johnson, as per Newsweek.

Johnson dubbed the grouping of China, Russia, and Iran as an “an axis of evil” and further said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “would continue marching through Europe if he were allowed”.

“I think he [Putin] might go to the Balkans next. I think he might have a showdown with Poland or one of our NATO allies. To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys. My son is going to begin in the Naval academy this fall. This is a live fire exercise for me as it is for so many American families,” said Johnson.

For his actions, Johnson has attracted the wrath of the hard-right flank of the Republicans. At least three House Republicans —Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie, and Paul Gosar— have called for his ouster.