On February 11, the United States Senate pushed forward a USD 95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, despite growing domestic controversy over the US’s foreign military involvement particularly in Israel and Ukraine. The bill advanced in a cloture vote, also known as a motion to limit debate and move towards a final vote, and is now one step closer to being passed. Senators are aiming to push the bill through two more procedural hurdles on Monday in order to pass the bill on Wednesday.
“These are enormously high stakes of the national security package. Our security, our values, our democracy. It’s a down payment for the survival of Western democracy and the survival of Western values,” said Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday.
The bill would allot USD 60 billion to Ukraine—the vast majority of which will go to military aid and replenishing the US military with weapons and equipment destined for Ukraine. USD 14.1 billion will go to Israel as it continues a genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, with USD 4 billion to Israel’s air defense, with an additional USD 1.2 billion going to the “Iron Beam”, which is designed to intercept missiles. There is also USD 2.5 billion allocated to support US military operations in the region.
The bill would also allocate USD 9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance to those in Gaza, Ukraine, and other war zones. Meanwhile, the United States has joined other Western countries in cutting almost all the funding for the UNRWA, the main providers and distributors of humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza.
USD 4.83 billion would go to the Indo-Pacific region, including USD 1.9 billion towards weapons to Taiwan, and about USD 3.3 billion towards an anti-China security partnership with Australia and the UK (also called AUKUS).
In a 67-27 cloture vote, 18 Republicans joined 47 Democrats and two Independents in the bi-partisan support for the bill. 27 Senators voted against the bill, representing largely ultra-conservative Republicans who argue that money needs to be diverted from Ukraine and into the militarization of the US-Mexico border to curb immigration. This argument is why several successive Ukraine-Israel aid packages have failed over and over again in the US Congress since October 7, not because of the US public’s growing disdain for Israeli actions and steadily growing support for Palestine. The only exception to this appears to be Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who voted against the bill due to the “unprecedented humanitarian disaster” in Gaza.
“We did spend four months promising the American people that we would secure our own border before we focused on other countries’ borders,” said Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton on the “Fox News Sunday” program.
Voter support for military aid to Israel has been dropping significantly. Additionally, the number of people in the US who believe that there is too much support being given to Ukraine has grown steadily as the war has dragged on for nearly two years.
If the bill passes in the Senate, it will need to pass in the House of Representatives, which has not passed any major aid to Ukraine since Republicans took the majority of the House in January 2023.
Meanwhile, Israel is bombing Rafah, where over one million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge, despite even the Biden Administration urging against the assault. On Sunday, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the assault on Rafah “should not proceed” without plans to ensure the safety of those living there. Despite all warnings, Israel has intensified its bombardment of Rafah and is threatening a ground invasion.
