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The US Senate voted to move forward with more debate over a new bill to send $60bn in additional funds to Ukraine, raising hopes that a compromise was in sight to increase American support for Kyiv’s war effort.
In a procedural vote on Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted 67-32 to proceed with a pared-back bill that would give billions to Ukraine, as well as money for Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian aid for Gaza and elsewhere. Sixteen Senate Republicans voted to advance the bill.
But the proposal still faces an uphill battle if it is to become law. Thursday’s vote sets the stage for a potentially protracted process of haggling over amendments, as Republican senators seek changes to the bill as written.
“This is a good first step,” Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, said after Thursday’s vote. “This bill is essential for our national security, for the security of our friends in Ukraine, in Israel, for humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Gaza and for Taiwan.
“Failure to pass this bill would only embolden autocrats like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Xi [Jinping of China] who want nothing more than America’s decline.”
An earlier bipartisan deal that tied funding for Ukraine, Israel and the US’s Indo-Pacific allies to stricter controls at the US-Mexico border collapsed this week under the weight of opposition from Donald Trump
The failure of that bill prompted Schumer to push “Plan B,” which stripped out the border provisions that Trump objected to, but kept the foreign aid in place.
Several Republican senators nevertheless continue to oppose the revised bill, with some saying they want to reopen the issue of immigration.
Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, said he would vote against the new security bill on Thursday, saying he believed “we have not done all we can to secure our southern border”.
“I enthusiastically support Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, but as I have been saying for months now, we must protect America first,” said Graham.
The tortuous debate on Capitol Hill has sparked concerns about US leadership in European capitals.
Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, tore into Republican lawmakers on Thursday, writing in a post on social media platform X: “Dear Republican Senators of America. Ronald Reagan, who helped millions of us to win back our freedom and independence, must be turning in his grave today.
“Shame on you,” Tusk added.
Trump, who has said he would end the war in Ukraine on “day one” of his new administration if he were re-elected as president in November’s US election, has yet to publicly weigh in on the latest proposals.
The debate in Washington over more aid for Ukraine as it fights against Russia’s invasion has divided the Republican party and raised alarm bells with US allies abroad.
Speaking at a fundraiser in New York City on Wednesday night, US President Joe Biden warned that lawmakers risked abandoning Ukraine at a critical moment in the war, and signalling to the rest of the world that the US was stepping back from global leadership.
“What happens in the Middle East?” Biden added. “The Taiwan Strait? What happens in Asia? What happens with Ukraine?”
Even if senators are able to cobble together an agreement on more aid to Ukraine, the legislation would still need to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has been loath to support additional aid for Kyiv.
Ralph Norman, a Republican House member from South Carolina, told the Financial Times on Thursday he “hoped” Johnson would not allow a version of the Senate bill to be taken up by the House.
“It is a complete giveaway for this country on money we don’t have,” Norman said. “Mike [Johnson] is new to the job, but he understands what is at stake here. I hope we don’t take it up on the floor. It doesn’t deserve to be taken up.”
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