After months of deadlock and failed negotiations, the US House of Representatives finally approved yesterday four legislative proposals for assistance to the two major allies at war, Ukraine and Israel, as well as to Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific countries, and a fourth that includes a series of “national security” measures, such as banning TikTok in case it remains Chinese-owned or authorizing Joe Biden to impose sanctions on Iran.
To become law, the four initiatives must now go through the Senate, where they are expected to be approved by the Democratic majority, and then have to be signed by Biden, who has also shown himself ready to do so.
The agreement between moderate Republicans and Democrats, facilitated by the growing tension in the Middle East, has allowed the advancement of an aid package similar to the one requested by the White House six months ago, after the attacks by Hamas on October 7. "The measures we take today will be remembered in the future as necessary for our national security. Vladimir Putin is watching, Xi Jinping is watching, and the leaders of Iran and other enemies of the US are watching," said moderate Republican Tom Cole.
The aid package, brought to a vote by the Speaker of the Lower House, Republican Mike Johnson, foresees 60.8 billion dollars for Ukraine, 26,400 for Israel and 8,100 for the countries of the Indo-Pacific, mainly Taiwan. Unlike a similar package approved two months ago in the Senate, this time the aid was approved in four separate votes.
While aid to Ukraine received the expected no votes from the ultra wing of the Republicans and unanimous approval from the Democrats (311 votes in favor and 112 against), aid to Israel was opposed by the progressive democrats (366 to 58), who ask that the aid be conditioned on the cessation of bombings on the civilian population. One is congressman Mark Pocan, who has remarked on Washington's inability to influence the recent attacks in Rafah: “If [Netanyahu] won't listen to us on matters of national security, what's the point of entrusting him with more weapons? It's enough".
Johnson's change of position, which had opposed bringing aid to Ukraine to a vote, has not pleased the ultra wing of the Republicans, grouped in the Freedom Caucus, which threatens to start a motion of no confidence against the speaker If this group gains a majority with enough Democrats, it will be the second time this term that the Speaker of the House has been expelled, after the impeachment of the previous one, Kevin McCarthy, in October. And one more sign of the strong division in the Republican Party, which has made this Congress the most ungovernable in decades.
The 60,800 million for Ukraine will be holy water for a country in a critical situation after two years of Russian invasion and with the conflict stalled. Israel already receives annual aid approved years ago in Congress, of 3.8 billion, in addition to the shipment of thousands of bombs, fighter jets and other weapons authorized in recent weeks by the Biden Administration. But the 26,400 million will be used to increase anti-aircraft defenses in the face of the resurgence of tension with Iran.
