US Senate nears final stage in approving aid for Ukraine
The U.S. Senate on Monday took a series of procedural steps on H.R. 815, coming close to a major vote on the bill to provide more than USD 95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
The lawmakers are expected to vote on the substance of the document in the coming days, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.
Despite attempts by a small group of Trumpist senators to slow down the process, lawmakers in the upper chamber on Monday decided to end debate on the updated text, which contains only foreign aid - without the border issue. At the same time, 66 senators voted in favour and 33 against. A favourable decision required the support of at least 60 lawmakers.
After the main vote, which may take place on Tuesday or Wednesday, if approved, the document will be submitted to the House of Representatives. It will also have to consider it, carry out all the necessary legislative procedures and vote on it as a whole.
Meanwhile, the speaker of the lower house, ultra-conservative Mike Johnson, known for his support of former President Trump's positions, sharply criticised H.R. 815 on Monday. He echoed the rhetoric of a group of Republicans who have been trying to slow down the Senate's consideration, saying that the document contains no provisions on border security and thus "silences" the most pressing issue for the United States.
"[In] the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters. America deserves better than the Senate's status quo," Johnson said.
As Ukrinform reported, last Wednesday, the US Senate failed to support a comprehensive USD 118 billion bill, which, in addition to foreign aid to other countries, also included border security and migration reform. Republicans opposed it. On the same day, Democrats proposed a different text of the document, which excluded the border issue but left USD 95.3 billion.