The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday night to give final approval to a $95.3 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending it to President Biden and ending months of uncertainty about whether the United States would continue to back Kyiv in its fight against Russian aggression.
The vote reflected resounding bipartisan support for the measure, which passed the House on Saturday by lopsided margins after a tortured journey on Capitol Hill, where it was nearly derailed by right-wing resistance. The Senate’s action, on a vote of 79 to 18, provided a victory for the president, who had urged lawmakers to move quickly so he could sign it into law.
And it capped an extraordinary political saga that raised questions about whether the United States would continue to play a leading role in upholding the international order and projecting its values globally.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday night to give final approval to a $95.3 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending it to President Biden and ending months of uncertainty about whether the United States would continue to back Kyiv in its fight against Russian aggression.
And it capped an extraordinary political saga that raised questions about whether the United States would continue to play a leading role in upholding the international order and projecting its values globally.
“Our allies around the world have been watching Congress for the last six months and wondering the same thing: When it matters most, will America summon the strength to come together, overcome the centrifugal pull of partisanship and meet the magnitude of the moment?” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said on Tuesday.
In addition to the package of sweeteners, which also includes new rounds of sanctions on Iranian and Russian officials, the House added provisions to direct the president to seek repayment from the Ukrainian government of $10 billion in economic assistance.
In extensive remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday before the procedural vote, Mr. McConnell cast congressional approval of the aid package as “a test of American resolve, our readiness and our willingness to lead.” He rebuked the naysayers in his party, criticizing those who, he said, would “indulge the fantasy of pulling up a drawbridge.”
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, posted a photograph on social media of lawmakers holding American flags inside the chamber in Kyiv, in “gratitude to the United States and to every member of the House of Representatives who supported the Ukraine Aid Bill.
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