House Advances Foreign Aid Bill in Unusual Bipartisan Procedural Vote
Summary from the AllSides News Team
House Democrats helped House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) advance a foreign aid package on Friday, a rare move to overcome opposition from some House Republicans.
The Details: The 316-94 vote opened debate on the $95 billion proposal, which includes four bills that would provide assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan over the coming years. This kind of procedural “rule vote” is usually undertaken solely by the majority party, many outlets reported, but a group of House Republicans opposed it. During the vote, Democrats waited until it was clear there were not enough Republican votes, and then began voting in favor. While Democrats provided more yes-votes than Republicans, a majority of House Republicans voted to advance the package.
For Context: CIA Director William Burns warned Thursday that Ukraine could lose to Russia by the end of the year without additional aid. Opponents to the aid package include many of the same hard-line House Republicans at the center of past House controversies — including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who is pushing to oust Johnson as speaker over a purported “complete and total surrender” to Democrats. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ).
How the Media Covered It: Coverage was common, sometimes echoing attitudes about Ukraine funding and government spending. While The New York Times (Lean Left bias) hailed the vote as “a triumph against the forces of isolationism within the G.O.P. and a major moment of bipartisan consensus,” an opinion writer in The Daily Signal (Right bias) called Johnson “shrewd” for trying to pass “Biden’s foreign aid package.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Ukraine Aid Bill Clears Critical Hurdle in the House as Democrats Supply the VotesThe House took a critical step on Friday toward approving a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, as Democrats supplied the crucial votes to push the legislation past Republican opposition so that it could be considered on the floor.
The 316-94 vote cleared the way for the House to bring up the aid package, teeing up separate votes on Saturday on each of its parts. But passage of those measures, each of which enjoys bipartisan support from different coalitions, was not in doubt, making Friday’s...
From the Right
Speaker Johnson's foreign aid package lives on with rare help from Democrats, teeing up weekend voteHouse Speaker Mike Johnson leaned on significant help from Democrats to advance his $95 billion aid package on the House floor Friday, setting up final passage Saturday as he faces an increasingly disgruntled right flank threatening to oust him.
More than 160 House Democrats voted with the GOP to advance the four-part measure, which includes aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan along with a fourth bill containing sanctions against Russia and Iran and a provision requiring the social media company TikTok to divest from China.
The final vote to advance the bill was 316-94. Since 55 Republicans voted against it, support among Democrats outnumbered GOP backing. ...
From the Center
House advances Ukraine, Israel aid as Dems help Speaker Johnson, GOPThe House advanced legislation Friday to send aid to Ukraine and other embattled U.S. allies overseas, clearing a key procedural hurdle after Democrats stepped in to back the measure — a rare move by the minority party, but one that was crucial to nudge the package forward in the face of fierce conservative opposition.
The chamber approved the foreign aid rule in a 316-94 vote, opening up debate on a quartet of bills combining military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with humanitarian assistance to Gaza and other global war zones....
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