U.S. Senate passes Ukraine aid bill, House likely to reject it

The U.S. Senate approves funding for Ukraine's war effort, but Republican-led House threatens to reject it.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved long-delayed funding for Ukraine's war effort, part of a foreign aid package that right-wing House Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated his Republican-led chamber will reject.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been negotiating the national security measure for months, but strong opposition from likely Republican 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump and his allies in Congress still threatens to sink it.

The $95 billion package includes funding for Israel's military and key strategic ally Taiwan, but the lion's share — $60 billion — would help Ukraine restock depleted ammunition supplies, weapons and other crucial needs as it enters a third year of war against Russian invasion.

The legislation, which the Senate voted on early on Tuesday morning and which easily passed 70-29 with cross-party support, is the latest effort in a tortuous process to save U.S. President Joe Biden's policy of leading a Western response to the Russian attack on democratic Ukraine.

A previous Senate Bill negotiated by both parties had also encompassed tough new U.S. border protections aimed at stemming an influx of migration into the United States from Mexico -- a demand from Republicans, who said they would not help Ukraine without first paying attention to the domestic issue.

However, Trump-led Republicans in Congress then killed that bill, leaving the legislature in chaos.

Johnson suggested late Monday that even if Republicans in the Senate backed the Ukraine bill, the party in the lower house will not follow -- unless, again, it comes with border control measures.