House Republicans took a crucial step late Thursday night in advancing the long-delayed foreign aid bill for Ukraine and Israel. They had to rely on Democratic votes to move a plan to consider it out of a key committee and onto the floor.
The 9-to-3 vote in the important Rules Committee was an initial step in the complex process the House is expected to go through to approve the $95 billion aid package. It highlighted the strong opposition from far-right Republicans towards Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to push through the legislation and the speaker’s reliance on Democrats to push it forward.
Three far-right Republicans on the panel initially refused to support the rule needed to bring up the foreign aid bill, risking it to die in committee. However, Democrats on the panel intervened to save it in an unprecedented break from tradition.
All Democrats voted to move the plan out of committee.
The Rules Committee, traditionally controlled by the speaker, usually advances legislation to the floor in a party-line vote.
Democrats are likely to provide the necessary votes on the House floor to approve the rule and bring up the aid package, despite Republican opposition.
The rule is crucial to Mr. Johnson’s strategy for passing the foreign aid package, as it would allow separate votes on aid to Israel and Ukraine, then combine them without a full bill vote.
The far-right lawmakers on the Rules panel, who tried to block the measure, gained their positions as part of a concession made last year by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. They opposed the bill due to lack of provisions prioritizing border security over aid to Ukraine.
This act of rebellion left Democrats to support the speaker and move the measure forward.
Mr. Johnson anticipates a House vote on the aid package on Saturday.
“I’d rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys,” he stated in an interview on Newsmax. “We can prevent boots on the ground by aiding Ukraine to hold Putin at bay.”
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