With help from the Democrats, the Republican speaker is set to put the $60 billion bill to a vote
The US House of Representatives introduced a rule on Friday that would allow the vote for a $95 billion foreign aid bill, including $60 billion earmarked for the government in Kiev.
Requested by President Joe Biden last October, the funding proposal has languished in the House for months due to objections from a faction of the Republican majority. Friday saw 165 Democrats and only 151 Republicans vote in favor of the rule change, fueling fury against Speaker Mike Johnson.
According to the Washington Post, the issue of Ukraine funding has “deeply divided a dysfunctional” Republican Party.
Congressman Michael Burgess of Texas, who chairs the Rules Committee, said he regretted not having border security in the package of bills but that “the requirement for America to assert itself as the leader of the free world is not optional, it’s not a requirement we can put on pause.”
His party colleague, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, fumed that the Republican leadership is “fighting tooth and nail to pass Democrat, America Last priorities.”