Less than 24 hours after the border agreement was shot down, the Senate approved a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took the lead in quickly introducing this legislation after Wednesday's session and got 17 Republicans to join all Democrats in voting in favor.
According to the majority leader, the bill will also serve to finance Indo-Pacific security and humanitarian assistance for civilians around the world.
67-32: The Senate advances a $95 billion foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
The bill is close to what Democrats originally proposed last fall and comes after congressional Republicans spent months demanding any aid package also include immigration restrictions. pic.twitter.com/CbuC9kdtvz
— The Recount (@therecount) February 8, 2024
17 Republican senators joined all Democrats to support the project . They were: Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), John Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Kennedy (R-La.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Tom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.). In turn, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders opposed the legislation.
After the failure of the border agreement, Senate leadership decided to vote on the part of the deal that contained aid for the aforementioned countries separately.
"There are other parts of this supplemental that are extremely important as well: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan. We still in my view ought to tackle the rest of it because it’s important – not that the border isn’t important, but we can’t get an outcome. So that’s where I think we ought to head," McConnell said Wednesday afternoon.
Although there are still remaining steps for the bill to head to the House of Representatives, it is not clear if the Republican majority led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will approve it without legislation to alleviate the situation on the southern border.
Indeed, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Alaska) told Bloomberg that the House speaker will not put Ukraine funding to a vote without strong border reforms attached.
