The bill passed the chamber by a vote of 311 to 112, with all Democrats and a majority of Republicans joining forces to send the measure to the Senate.
The vote represented a dramatic break from the party’s dominant isolationist wing, which had succeeded in stalling the aid for months. Speaker Mike Johnson, who ultimately allowed the vote to proceed despite intense pressure from the right flank of his caucus, watched from the rostrum as more than 100 of his fellow Republicans voted against the bill. The final tally underscored the deep fissures within the GOP over the United States’ role in a war that has become a defining issue of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Under the terms of the package, roughly $61 billion is allocated for Ukraine, with the remainder divided between Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian assistance for civilians in conflict zones. The legislation also includes a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on the social media platform TikTok, a move that has drawn its own sharp partisan debate. The White House has already signaled that President Biden will sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk, with administration officials arguing that the delay in funding has already cost Ukrainian forces critical ground on the battlefield.
The Senate is expected to take up the measure as early as Tuesday, where it is likely to pass with a similar bipartisan coalition. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that the chamber would act “without delay” to send the bill to the president, warning that “every single day of delay has consequences for the brave people of Ukraine.” The speed of the Senate’s consideration will be closely watched, as Ukrainian commanders have reported acute shortages of artillery shells and air defense interceptors in recent weeks.
The political fallout from the vote was immediate. Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly called for the aid to be structured as a loan and has suggested he would negotiate an end to the war on Russian terms, issued a statement accusing House Republicans who supported the bill of betraying the party’s base. Several of the most vocal opponents of the package, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have already threatened to force a vote to oust Speaker Johnson from his leadership post, a move that could plunge the House into further chaos.
For Mr. Johnson, the decision to bring the bill to the floor was a high-risk gamble that placed him at odds with a significant portion of his conference and the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. In the days leading up to the vote, the Speaker argued privately and publicly that blocking the aid would amount to a strategic blunder that would weaken American credibility abroad. Whether his gamble will cost him the gavel remains an open question, but the vote itself demonstrated that a bipartisan majority in Congress still exists for a robust internationalist foreign policy.
The passage of the aid package marks a pivotal moment for Ukraine, which has been forced to ration ammunition as Russian forces have intensified their offensive in the eastern Donbas region. European allies, who have watched the months-long impasse in Washington with growing alarm, welcomed the news. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the vote “a demonstration of continued transatlantic resolve,” though he cautioned that the alliance must now focus on ensuring the aid translates into tangible results on the front lines.
