US House advances Ukraine and Israel aid, TikTok ban with help from Democrats
- Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson relied heavily on lawmakers from the rival party to overcome a blockade from his conservative colleagues
- The 316-94 procedural vote on the US$95 billion package signals a likely end to an agonising wait for US allies, including Taiwan
The US House advanced a long-stalled US$95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a breakthrough signalling an end to an increasingly agonising wait for Ukraine and US allies in Europe.
The pivotal procedural vote on Friday signals that funding will prevail on Saturday when the House is scheduled to vote on the bill, which also includes a provision that would force the social media platform TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest or face a ban in the US.
House Speaker Mike Johnson relied heavily on Democrats in the 316-94 vote to overcome a blockade from conservatives within his own party. More Democrats than Republicans voted to advance the aid package, with 165 Democrats supporting the procedural step. Fifty-five Republicans defied Johnson.
The long-delayed Ukraine aid is vital to country’s ability to hold back Russian forces and defend against missile attacks that have destroyed major power plants and other infrastructure.
Without the weapons, US and Ukrainian officials have warned that Kyiv would be unable to hold its defensive lines and could lose on the battlefield before the end of this year.
The Senate, which overwhelmingly passed similar legislation, is expected to vote in the coming days. The Biden administration is already preparing to move assistance to Ukraine swiftly after that, a US official said.
“We are at an inflection point, and the longer we wait, the more expensive any solution to this to this conflict will become, both in terms of dollars and lives,” House Rules Chairman Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican who backed the package, said.
Johnson now faces a backlash from Republican hardliners that could imperil his leadership position.
“I don’t worry. I just do my job,” Johnson said Friday shortly before the vote. “I am not deterred by threats.”
Who are likely contenders for House speaker if Republicans oust Mike Johnson?
Irate conservatives in the so-called House Freedom Caucus attempted to stop the package because it does not condition aid to Ukraine on changes to US border policies.
The same conservatives were instrumental in scuttling a border security compromise that emerged in the Senate earlier this year, arguing it was too weak to stem the record flow of illegal migration across the US-Mexico border.
“It’s official: Speaker Johnson is no longer the GOP Speaker of the House,” Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican said on the social media platform X.
Johnson had to strike a deal with Democrats to get around the impasse with conservatives. Democrats support for Johnson in Friday’s procedural vote and hardliners opposition are both an extraordinary break from the traditions of the US, in which such votes setting the terms of floor debate follow party lines.
03:10
Protests at US Congress after House passes bill that could potentially ban TikTok nationwide
Minority Democrats had to do the same thing in May to pass a measure to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a US payment default.
“The world is watching,” said Democratic Representative Jim McGovern. “Democracy is on the line with Ukraine.”
Democrats may also have to help Johnson save his job.
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene could trigger a vote on a motion to oust the speaker at any time and she would need just a handful of other conservatives to support her if Democrats go along.
Some moderate Democrats have already vowed to protect the speaker from such an attempt by voting to dismiss the motion to oust him.
TikTok gets more aggressive to counter US ban as ByteDance stays hands-off
The US$95 billion aid package also contains national security and sanctions provisions with bipartisan support. It also allow the confiscation of Russian dollar assets, something critics allege would weaken the status of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
The bill would ban the popular social media app TikTok if China’s ByteDance does not divest itself from the company. The deadline to do was extended in the latest plan to up to 360 days, well past the November US elections.
The package mandates sanctions on Iranian oil but does not expedite natural gas exports due to objections by Democrats. It has US$9 billion in humanitarian aid including for Palestinians due to pressure from Democrats.
Because the contents of the package were negotiated behind the scenes with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the White House, it is expected to clear the Senate despite conservative vows there to delay the process.
