The Senate cleared a procedural hurdle, with more than 60 Senators on both sides of the aisle voting to advance a $95.34 billion aid package during a rare Sunday session.
Senators voted 67-27 to advance an amendment that changes the underlying text of the legislation in the new foreign aid legislation that does not include bipartisan border provisions that were rejected by a majority of the Senate Republicans earlier in the week.
The Senate Appropriations Committee released the legislative text of the more than $95 billion foreign aid bill earlier in the week. The funding includes aid for Ukraine, security assistance to Israel, humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine, $4.8 billion to help Taiwan and Indo-Pacific allies, and an additional $2.4 billion to support U.S. Central Command operations in the Red Sea. The bill still includes provisions targeting fentanyl trafficking, part of the border agreement.
“As I’ve said all week long, we’re going to keep working on this bill until the job is done. Even though we’re keeping the process moving on the floor, Democrats still hope we can reach an agreement with our Republican colleagues on a reasonable list of amendments,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during a speech on the Senate floor on Sunday. “We’re happy to have a fair and reasonable amendment vote.”
Ahead of the vote, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urged his colleagues to move forward with the foreign aid bill.
“I know it’s become quite fashionable in some circles to disregard the global interests we have as a global power, to bemoan the responsibilities of global leadership … this is idle work for idle minds,” he said.
There were eighteen Republican yeas on the test vote for the foreign aid bill, including Sens. Shelley Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Todd Young (R-IN). Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) voted no.
A previous version of the supplemental spending bill that included both foreign aid and border policy changes was blocked in the Senate earlier in the week. Many Senate Republicans are still adamant that they will not support further aid to Ukraine unless border policy changes are included in the final legislation via amendments.
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“If what we are after is unity, then we should move forward and allow individual members to exercise their prerogatives, their rights under the Senate rules and by custom practice and tradition and precedent and make their amendments pending; that’s not too much to ask,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who had attempted to force the amendment process in an earlier vote.
However, no time agreement has emerged in the process, so some GOP Senators who oppose further aid to Ukraine are vowing to delay consideration by forcing the upper chamber to comply with time-consuming parliamentary rules.
The next vote would be Monday night, absent a time agreement. Currently, there is still no movement on amendment votes.
