Late on Tuesday night, the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package providing assistance to Israel, to Ukraine, to Taiwan, and also a national security bill which includes a demand for TikTok to divest. There had previously been an 80-19 vote earlier on Tuesday on cloture. The Senate then adjourned until next Tuesday.
The vote was 79-18, with most of the votes opposed coming from Republicans. Other “no” votes included Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley (OR) and Peter Welch (VT), as well as Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT), who caucuses with the Democrats. Sanders have been notoriously critical of Israel, as has Merkley, who even used last month’s Easter holiday as an excuse to blast Israel in a series of posts he shared to his X account.
There were also “no” to “yes” votes, with Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) among those ultimately voting in favor of the package on Tuesday night, even after he voted against cloture. Other Republican senators also flipped to support the foreign aid after previously voting against in February.
The package had previously passed the House last Saturday in a rare session, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) at risk of losing the gavel as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed a motion to vacate the chair last month. Johnson has support from Democrats after he brought up the foreign aid package, and former and potentially future President Donald Trump.
The bill is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden, with the president indicating in a statement, also late on Tuesday night, that he would do so on Wednesday. In addition to stressing the bipartisan nature of the bill, the president’s statement also raised concerns that conservative members have expressed with the package, such as the aid for Gaza, a priority for Biden and his administration, which has been hijacked by Hamas in the past.
“The need is urgent: for Ukraine, facing unrelenting bombardment from Russia; for Israel, which just faced unprecedented attacks from Iran; for refugees and those impacted by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including in Gaza, Sudan, and Haiti; and for our partners seeking security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement read in part. “I want to thank Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, and all of the bipartisan lawmakers in the Senate who voted for this bill. This critical legislation will make our nation and world more secure as we support our friends who are defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin.”
