It all comes down to this.
After months of fighting between the parties, across the chambers and within the House Republican conference, the lower chamber is poised Saturday to approve a massive new round of foreign aid, combining billions of dollars in military help for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with billions more in humanitarian assistance for Gaza and other war zones around the globe.
Passage would mark a huge victory for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who had rejected a Senate-passed foreign-aid package in February and has agonized since then over how to move the more conservative version he promised through the House in the face of fierce opposition from hardliners occupying his animated right flank.
The legislation he’s proposed attempts to thread a delicate needle, keeping much of the Senate proposal intact — in order to secure crucial Democratic support — while adding a series of Republican national security priorities designed to temper the conservative outcry. Those GOP provisions, combined into their own package, include new sanctions on Iran; efforts to reduce the impact of the aid package on deficit spending; and a potential ban on TikTok amid concerns over the blockbuster company’s ties to China’s Communist Party.
To sweeten the deal further, Johnson has split the package into four distinct pieces, each scheduled to receive a separate vote — a design that’s won praise from lawmakers in both parties who have supported parts of the Senate bill but not others. Johnson’s piecemeal approach grants them the opportunity to go on record supporting their favored aid provisions while rejecting those they oppose.
Still, the Speaker’s decision to champion new foreign aid has come with stark political risks, infuriating conservatives who were already up in arms over his willingness to cut deals with President Biden on big-ticket legislation like extending federal funding and reauthorizing government surveillance powers.
House advances Ukraine, Israel aid as Dems help Speaker Johnson, GOP
The debate has not sparked a direct challenge to Johnson’s gavel. But Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last month had introduced a resolution to remove him from power — a motion since endorsed by two other GOP lawmakers — and it remains unclear if passage of the Ukraine aid will prompt her to force the measure to the floor for a vote.
The House gavels in at 9 a.m. to begin what is sure to be a fiery floor debate, with voting expected to begin at around 1 p.m. On the schedule are a series of amendments, that will each receive a separate vote; the border bill, which is not expected to win the two-thirds majority needed to pass by the procedural vehicle under which it’s moving; and finally the four foreign aid bills: Israel, Indo-Pacific, Ukraine and the grab-all package of national security bills.
Follow along with live updates below.
Five takeaways from today
The House on Saturday approved a series of bills providing tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to embattled U.S. allies overseas, breaking a months-long impasse that bitterly divided Congress and sending the package along to the Senate.
The legislation — marrying military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with humanitarian assistance for Gaza — marked a victory for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who had taken the politically risky step of bringing the proposals to the floor over the objection of hardline conservatives, several of whom want to boot him from power.
That decision has endeared the Speaker to Ukraine’s supporters in both parties, who argued the need for an aggressive strategy to help Kyiv’s beleaguered forces counter Russia’s imperial designs in Europe.
But it’s heightened the tensions between Johnson and his right flank, which was already furious with the Speaker for his willingness to negotiate bipartisan deals with President Biden and felt betrayed that GOP leaders dropped demands for tougher border security.
Click here to read five takeaways from Saturday’s monumental votes.
— Mychael Schnell and Mike Lillis
Senate tees up Tuesday votes on aid package
The Senate will hold two votes on Tuesday starting at 1 p.m. to advance a package of foreign aid bills, including military assistance for Ukraine and Israel, which will take Congress a big step closer to delivering assistance that President Biden requested in October.
The foreign aid package passed the House as four separate bills but will move as one piece of legislation through the upper chamber.
The Senate will vote Tuesday on a motion sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to table the bill and then move on to a motion to advance the defense supplemental spending package to a final vote.
Unless opponents of the bill yield back time on the floor, the Senate will vote on final passage Wednesday.
“Earlier today, the House of Representatives at long last approved desperately-needed funding for Ukraine, for Israel, for the Indo Pacific, and for humanitarian assistance. And now it is the Senate’s turn to act,” Schumer said on the floor, announcing the time agreement.
“The Senate now stands ready to take the next step,” he said.
Schumer predicted the bill will pass when it comes before his chamber.
“To our friends in Ukraine, to our allies in NATO, to allies in Israel and to civilians around the world in need of aid: rest assured America will deliver yet again,” he pledged.
— Alexander Bolton
McConnell lauds House passage of foreign aid: ‘It is once again the Senate’s turn to make history’
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lauded the House advancing a set of foreign aid bills.
Noting that the Senate had passed a foreign aid package in November, McConnell wrote that “Today, the House of Representatives finally advanced this essential investment in the strength of our alliances and partnerships, the credibility of our commitments, and the capacity of our own armed forces to defend America and deter aggression.”
“Today’s action moves this critical national security supplemental one step closer to helping America and our friends to meet the most dangerous array of threats in a generation. From the battlefields of Ukraine to the cities and kibbutzes of Israel, and from the Red Sea to the South China Sea, our adversaries are colluding to violently undermine America, our allies, and our global interest.”
He added, “The task before us is urgent. It is once again the Senate’s turn to make history.”
Greene rips Johnson as a “traitor” over Ukraine aid
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) ripped Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as a “traitor,” after the House passed an Ukraine aid package.
“Zelensky thanks Speaker Mike Johnson (D-Ukraine) for sending $61 BILLION of your hard-earned tax dollars to fuel a foreign war,” she wrote on X. “Johnson once again passed a bill with the help of Democrats while the majority of the Republican majority voted against it. Not only is Mike Johnson a traitor to our conference, he’s a traitor to our country.”
Read full story here.
Zelensky thanks House, Johnson for Ukraine aid
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the House and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) after the chamber passed more than $60 billion in aid for his beleaguered forces.
“I am grateful to the United States House of Representatives, both parties, and personally Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Democracy and freedom will always have global significance and will never fail as long as America helps to protect it. The vital U.S. aid bill passed today by the House will keep the war from expanding, save thousands and thousands of lives, and help both of our nations to become stronger.”
Read story here.
Biden commends House for passing additional aid to Ukraine, Israel
President Biden thanked House leadership Saturday for advancing the foreign aid package that will provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies,” commending them for coming together.
“It comes at a moment of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine under continued bombardment from Russia. I want to thank Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, and the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in the House who voted to put our national security first,” he said in the statement, shared by the White House.
“I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs,” Biden added.
Full statement here.
Read the full story: House approves aid for Ukraine, Israel after bitter battle
House lawmakers in both parties joined forces Saturday to send a massive package of foreign aid to the Senate, ending a long and bitter stalemate over the fate of the legislation and all but ensuring the delivery of billions of dollars in new help to embattled allies across the globe.
The rare weekend votes were the culmination of months of fierce debate within the House GOP conference over how — or even if — Congress should step in with another round of military help for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan while providing humanitarian aid for civilian victims in Gaza and other war-torn regions around the globe.
The debate had split House Republicans into warring factions, pitting Reagan-minded traditionalists — who support strong interventions overseas to counter the imperial designs of Russia and China — against a newer brand of “America First” conservative who fought to limit the foreign spending and focus instead on domestic problems, particularly the migrant crisis at the southern border.
In the end, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defied his conservative critics, pushing to the floor a series of four bills providing the overseas assistance but detaching those funds from a separate border security bill, which failed on the floor during Saturday’s votes. He framed the aid as a simple, but crucial, continuation of America’s responsibility to democratic allies under siege from despots.
— Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell
House passes Israel aid
The House has passed aid for Israel 366-58, wrapping up its work on the four-bill foreign aid package.
House voting on Israel aid
The House is now voting on $26 billion in aid for Israel.
House passes Ukraine aid
The House on Saturday passed a bill to send more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine as it battles Russian forces.
The bill was by far the politically riskiest of the four for Johnson, who faced intense opposition from within his own conference.
But it passed in a resounding 311-112-1 vote, with Democrats in unanimous agreement in favor and Republicans split.
As the vote was about to close, Democrats cheered, waved Ukrainian flags and chanted “Ukraine.”
Cheers erupted again when the vote was completed.
Ukraine amendments voted down
All three amendments to the Ukraine aid bill, including one from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to zero out funding in the bill, resoundingly failed.
House voting on Ukraine aid
The House is now voting on the Ukraine aid bill.
It would send about $60 billion to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
The House will first take a series of amendment votes, including a proposal to eliminate all non-military funding in the bill and one from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a staunch opponent of Ukraine aid, to reduce each dollar amount to 0.
House passes Taiwan aid bill
The House overwhelmingly passed a bill to provide aid to Taiwan and Indo-Pacific allies.
The vote was 385-34.
House voting on Taiwan aid
The House is voting on a measure to send $8.1 billion to Taiwan and other allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
It is the second vote in Johnson’s four-part plan to pass foreign aid.
House passes national security bill
The House easily passed the first of four bills that are part of Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) plan to approve foreign aid.
The bill would ban TikTok in the U.S. if the company fails to divorce its operations from the Chinese Communist Party, and install new sanctions on Iran — an idea that’s gained steam since Tehran’s strikes on Israel last weekend.
The package also includes several provisions designed to ease the financial burden on U.S. taxpayers, providing some of the new Ukraine aid in the form of a loan — although a forgivable one — and empowering the administration to tap seized Russian assets to help pay the enormous costs of Ukrainian reconstruction.
The vote was 360-58.
House voting on national security bill that includes TikTok ban
The House is now voting on a bill with a number of GOP national security priorities designed to temper the conservative outcry. Those include a provision that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if the company fails to divorce its operations from the Chinese Communist Party, and another to install new sanctions on Iran — an idea that’s gained steam since Tehran’s strikes on Israel last weekend.
The package also includes several provisions designed to ease the financial burden on U.S. taxpayers, providing some of the new Ukraine aid in the form of a loan — although a forgivable one — and empowering the administration to tap seized Russian assets to help pay the enormous costs of Ukrainian reconstruction.
Border bill fails on floor
The House failed to pass a border security measure that was largely viewed as a way to appease conservatives outraged about Johnson’s decision to move forward with a package of foreign aid.
The bill largely mirrored House Republicans’ flagship border bill, H.R. 2, that was passed last year. It would have drastically limited asylum, required building former President Trump’s border wall and limited pathways for legal migration.
Conservatives bashed the bill from the start.
“That is a joke,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, told reporters immediately after its release. “That’s pretend. That’s theater. That’s noise.”
The final vote was 215-199, short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the bill under a suspension of the rules.
Kinzinger, Santorum among former lawmakers backing Johnson on Ukraine aid
A coalition of former lawmakers on Saturday sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) thanking him for moving forward with the foreign aid package the House is set to vote on.
“We recognize the political peril this decision carries and are deeply grateful for your determination to put the interests of our country’s national security ahead of political expediency,” the lawmakers, including former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), wrote in the letter. “There is a cacophony of misguided narratives being advanced from across the political spectrum. Our allies deserve the certain and stalwart support that comes from partnering with the greatest country the world has ever known.”
“Your call for America to reemerge as the country that defends freedom and confronts tyranny is a clarion one for our time,” they added. “This is not a debate of American security versus international security, but rather one of confronting threats to American security wherever they rear their evil head.”
— Steff Danielle Thomas
House voting on border security bill
The House is now voting on a border security bill designed to appease conservatives who are up in arms that Johnson’s foreign aid package excluded tougher measures to battle migration.
The bill is being considered under suspension of the rules, which means it needs two-thirds support to pass.
Schumer aiming for Tuesday foreign aid vote
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Saturday said he is hoping to reach an agreement on how to proceed on foreign aid that would allow for a Tuesday vote.
“We came to a tentative agreement last night, and if the hotline clears this morning, we expect to announce an agreement allowing the next vote to be on Tuesday early afternoon,” he said this morning.
Bacon warns ‘Ukraine will likely fall’ if House doesn’t pass aid bill
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) stressed the urgency of pushing through Ukraine aid Saturday, arguing the embattled country “will likely fall” if additional funding isn’t secured.
Now, if we don’t get this aid passed, Ukraine will likely fall,” Bacon told NewsNation’s “Morning in America.” “The Russians are — they got huge munitions factories. They’re being armed by North Korea, Iran and China. It stands to reason that Ukraine needs help against all of this support that Russia’s getting.”
He also warned that Russia could expand its quest to other countries — such as Moldova, Estonia and Latvia — if Ukraine were to lose the war.
Read full story here.
— Tara Suter
Top Republican warns that motion to vacate is still ‘foreseeable’
Heading into Saturday’s votes, Johnson has so far eluded the motion-to-vacate resolution that felled his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), despite championing a similar array of bipartisan deals that led to McCarthy’s removal.
But Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) is warning that the Speaker is not quite out of the woods.
McCaul, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, hailed Johnson for sticking his neck out, in the face of conservative outrage, to pass government spending bills and a reauthorization of government spying powers — and now to push Ukraine aid to the floor.
But with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) still dangling a motion-to-vacate resolution over the foreign aid debate, McCaul said a vote on Johnson’s ouster is still possible.
“This was a monumental achievement … to get to this point. And I’m glad we are, finally,” McCaul said. “With a lot of this behind us, you know, we can move forward with some more normalcy, I hope. Unless we have a motion to vacate, which is foreseeable.”
Greene, one of Congress’s most vocal opponents of more Ukraine aid, has declined to say if Saturday’s votes will prompt her to force her removal resolution to the floor.
— Mike Lillis
Dems to huddle at noon to discuss votes
House Democrats will huddle as a caucus in the Capitol basement at noon, roughly an hour before the first votes are expected to begin on the foreign aid package.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who was recently elected to head the Democrats’ messaging arm, said one main topic of discussion will be the last of the four bills in the series: a package of Republican national security priorities designed to sweeten the deal for wary conservatives.
“A lot of people are talking about it,” Dingell said of that proposal.
The national security package features those pieces of the House bill — the “innovations” referenced by Speaker Johnson — that were not included in the Senate-passed bill. Those provisions include new sanctions on Iran; several proposals designed to reduce the financial burden on U.S. taxpayers; and a potential ban on TikTok.
The last of those items has divided lawmakers in both parties. With that in mind, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) predicted Friday that some Democrats would oppose the final bill.
“We have to evaluate the totality of bills that are in that package,” he said, “and I expect that there will be significant number of Democrats who will support the fourth legislative item and a modest number of Democrats who might oppose it.”
— Mike Lillis
Democratic whip ‘confident’ all four bills will pass
Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.), the Democratic whip, is predicting all four foreign aid bills — Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific and the grab-bag of additional national security proposals — will pass when they hit the floor Saturday afternoon.
“I am confident that all four are going to pass,” she said, “and I am so proud of this Democratic Caucus that has brought us to this moment, where we are going to stand with our allies, we are going to stand with Ukraine, as they face extremism and fascism at their borders.”
Clark also suggested Democratic leaders aren’t taking any chances. Asked if leadership is whipping support on any of the bills, Clark didn’t hesitate.
“We’re whipping, yes, on all the bills,” she said.
— Mike Lillis
What’s at stake for Mike Johnson?
House conservatives are furious with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for championing another massive round of Ukraine aid.
But for all the grousing, threats and public protests, none of the critics are ready to use the one tool that lends them leverage in the fight: a motion to vacate. Without it, they’re left with no viable way to stop Johnson.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — a frequent critic of the Speaker — has filed such a motion and two Republicans thus far have signed onto the measure. But she has not moved to force a vote on ousting Johnson and many of the most conservative Republicans in the chamber have said they aren’t ready for a repeat of the three weeks of chaos that ensued after they ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Additionally, Democrats have indicated they could be ready to step in and rescue Johnson from a motion to vacate if he put Ukraine aid on the floor — which he will do today.
Still, Johnson joining with Democrats on foreign aid, just as he did on other issues including government funding, is only infuriating conservatives even more. And Greene’s motion continues to hang over his head.
Read the bills
House engages in floor debate over foreign aid package
The House convened Saturday morning to debate a package of legislation that would provide military aid to Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region, as well as humanitarian relief to Gaza.
Lawmakers took to the floor around 9 a.m. EDT.
Votes on the package are expected later this afternoon.
Watch the live feed here.
Debate on aid bills opens
The House is now debating bills to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific, as well as to humanitarian purposes in hot spots including Gaza.
Debate opened around 9 a.m. and votes on the bills are set for 1 p.m.
Buck takes swing at ‘Moscow Marjorie’ over opposition to Ukraine aid
Former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) went after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over her opposition to Ukraine aid and anti-Ukraine position overall, in a CNN interview Friday.
“Moscow Marjorie has reached a new low,” Buck said during an interview on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” with anchor Erica Hill.
Buck referred to Bolshevik Revolution leader Vladimir Lenin’s remarks that American journalists who wrote glowing reviews about Russia at the time were “useful idiots,” but said Taylor Greene doesn’t even live up to the title of a “useful idiot.”
“She is just mouthing the Russian propaganda and really hurting American foreign policy in the process,” Buck said.
Buck’s comments came just a day after the Georgia lawmaker appeared on former White House aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, arguing against foreign aid.
“I don’t care if the Speaker’s office becomes a revolving door,” continued Greene, who has filed a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his current role. “If that’s exactly what needs to happen, then let it be. But the days are over of the old Republican Party that wants to fund foreign wars and murder people in foreign lands, while they stab the American people in their face.”
Despite Greene’s opposition, the House ultimately advanced legislation for aid to Ukraine, along with other U.S. allies, in a 316-95 vote. The vote allowed for debate on four bills that group military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with humanitarian aid for Gaza and other war zones.
Read more here.
— Tara Suter
GOP lawmaker blames ‘Gaetz and 7 useful idiots’ for House turmoil
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) blamed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and “seven useful idiots” for turmoil in the House, saying Thursday their success in ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last fall is a direct cause of today’s problems for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Lawler criticized members of his own party for weakening Johnson’s negotiation powers in the battle over aid to Ukraine and Israel, which is moving through the House this week over the objections of some conservatives.
“Some of these folks have nobody to blame but themselves for why Speaker Johnson’s hand in negotiations has been weakened,” Lawler told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during his Thursday night appearance on “AC360.” “It’s their actions that have done that.”
Read the full story here.