US House passes Israel aid bill, legislation heads to Senate

The US House of Representatives on Saturday with broad bipartisan support passed a $95 billion legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, over bitter objections from Republican hardliners.

The legislation now proceeds to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar measure more than two months ago. US leaders from Democratic President Joe Biden to top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell have been urging embattled Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it up for a vote.

The Senate is expected to pass the measure next week, sending it to Biden to sign into law.

A dozen or so Democratic lawmakers waved small Ukrainian flags as it became clear that element of the package was headed to passage. Johnson told lawmakers that was a "violation of decorum."

Johnson this week chose to ignore ouster threats by hardline members of his fractious 218-213 majority and push forward the measure that includes some $60.84 billion for Ukraine as it struggles to fight off a two-year Russian invasion.

The bill also includes funds for Israel and security assistance for Taiwan 

The unusual four-bill package also includes funds for Israel, security assistance for Taiwan and allies in the Indo-Pacific and a measure that includes sanctions, a threat to ban the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok and the potential transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine.

"The world is watching what the Congress does," the White House said in a statement on Friday. "Passing this legislation would send a powerful message about the strength of American leadership at a pivotal moment.

The administration urges both chambers of the Congress to quickly send this supplemental funding package to the president’s desk."

Some hardline Republicans have voiced strong opposition to further Ukraine aid, with some arguing the U.S. can ill afford it given its rising $34 trillion national debt. They have repeatedly raised the threat of ousting Johnson, who became speaker in October after his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted by party hardliners.

"It's not the perfect legislation, it's not the legislation that we would write if Republicans were in charge of both the House, the Senate, and the White House," Johnson told reporters on Friday.

"This is the best possible product that we can get under these circumstances to take care of these really important obligations."

Representative Bob Good, chair of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, told reporters on Friday that the bills represent a "slide down into the abyss of greater fiscal crisis and America-last policies that reflect Biden and (Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck) Schumer and (House Democratic leader Hakeem) Jeffries, and don't reflect the American people."

But Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who carries huge influence in the party, on April 12 voiced support for Johnson and in a Thursday social media post said Ukraine's survival is important for the US.

The bills provide $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, including $23 billion to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities; $26 billion for Israel, including $9.1 billion for humanitarian needs, and $8.12 billion for the Indo-Pacific.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharkova said on Saturday that US legislation providing military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan would "deepen crisis throughout the world."

"Military assistance to the Kyiv regime is direct sponsorship of terrorist activity," Zakharova said on Telegram. "To Taiwan, it is interference in China's internal affairs. To Israel, it is a road straight to escalation and an unprecedented rise in tension in the region."

Responses from Biden and the House of Representatives

"At this critical inflection point, they came together to answer history’s call, passing urgently-needed national security legislation that I have fought for months to secure," said US President Joe Biden in a statement on Saturday. He further elaborated that the packed would provide Israel and the Ukraine with "critical support," humanitarian aid to various locations such as Gaza, Sudan, and Haiti, and "bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific."

Biden then explained that the security package arrives at a time of "grave urgency," and urged the Senate to send it to him to be signed.

"House of Representatives stangs with Israel," is how the US House of Representative's Saturday statement was titled. Following the vote on "critical security aid," the House of Representatives released a statement emphasizing its support of Israel, saying that the vote was "a powerful and concrete message that America stands with our ally Israel as it battles Iranian aggression and its terrorist proxies."

The statement further commended the majority in the House, and applauded "the leadership of Speaker Johnson and Democratic Leader Jeffries in gaining passage of the measure." The House of Representatives explained that the measure would assist in combating "the Iranian nuclear threat and intensify sanctions against Hamas and other Iranian terrorist proxies."