The US House passed US$61 billion in fresh aid for Ukraine on Saturday (Apr 20), ending a six-month political impasse during which Kyiv’s stockpiles dwindled in its war against Russia. 

The Ukraine aid will be combined with funding for Israel and Taiwan, for a foreign assistance package totalling US$95 billion. 

Speaker Mike Johnson worked with Democrats and overcame fierce objections from within his own party to funding Ukraine, ultimately pushing that legislation to passage on a 311 to 112 bipartisan vote. 

“We did our work here and history will judge us well,” Johnson said after the vote. 

The Senate is expected to pass the package, which was negotiated with the White House, in the coming week. Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to take it up on Tuesday, starting with procedural votes, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.   

The vote marks a victory for Republican defence hawks against the more isolationist wing of the party led by Donald Trump. Even so, more Republicans voted against further aid to Ukraine than in favour.

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“We cannot be afraid of our shadows. We must be strong. We have to do what’s right,” House Foreign Affairs chairman Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy quickly celebrated the vote on the social media platform X. A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin decried the fresh aid. 

Democrats and some Republicans waved Ukrainian flags during the vote, a rare moment of bipartisanship in a bitterly and narrowly divided House. 

“Traditional House Republicans led by Speaker Mike Johnson have risen to the occasion,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said. “We have a responsibility to push back against authoritarianism.”

Taiwan, TikTok

The House earlier on Saturday passed an US$8 billion aid package aimed at averting Chinese aggression against Taiwan. The chamber also passed a bill that would force Chinese-controlled ByteDance to divest itself of the popular social media app TikTok or face a US ban. 

That bill also allows the confiscation of Russian dollar assets to help fund assistance to Ukraine. Russia will retaliate for any confiscation of its property, the Tass newswire quoted Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

The Senate aims to begin voting on Tuesday on the combined package.

The US$61 billion Ukraine bill has US$13 billion to replenish US stockpiles for weapons already given to Ukraine and US$14 billion for US defence systems for Ukraine. It also has US$7 billion for US military operations in the region.

The bill’s US$9.5 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine comes in the form of a loan that the president can fully forgive after the next election. The loan idea was first floated by Trump, the GOP’s presumptive nominee. 

The Taiwan aid bill includes US$2 billion in foreign military financing for Taiwan and US$1.9 billion to replenish US weapons stocks to cover items and services provided for Taiwan. It also has US$3.3 billion to develop submarine infrastructure. 

The Israel aid bill, which passed on a 366 to 58 vote, includes US$4 billion for Israel’s missile defences in the wake of last weekend’s drone and missile attacks by Iran. It provides US$9 billion in global humanitarian aid including for use in Gaza at Democrats’ insistence.

Johnson ignored demands from ultra-conservatives to attach Republican-only US border legislation, which would have sunk its chances in the Democratic-controlled Senate. 

He also relied on Democrats to clear procedural hurdles for the legislation, breaking from decades of tradition and putting his speakership at risk. 

President Joe Biden welcomed the House vote, thanking Johnson, Jeffries and lawmakers “who voted to put our national security first”. He urged the Senate to pass the aid quickly and send the package to him for signing.

Three ultraconservative lawmakers – Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona – say they are prepared to vote to oust him from his job. 

“Nothing is done to secure our border or reduce our debt,” Greene said on Saturday. “Ukraine is not even a member of Nato.”

Massie on Saturday said he hoped the mounting Republican opposition would ultimately force Johnson to resign. 

“But if it comes to it, a vote will be called” to remove Johnson, he said. 

To strip Johnson of his speakership, these rebels would need the cooperation of Democrats, many of whom have said they’d protect the Louisiana Republican after he struck the foreign aid deal.  BLOOMBERG