U.S. Senate failed bill on aid to Ukraine and border reform
U.S. Senate did not support the bill on aid to Ukraine and border security (photo: Getty Images)
The U.S. Senate blocked a bill on funding to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as American border security, in a vote, according to the broadcast of the session.
Following the Senate vote overnight on February 8, 49 legislators voted in favor of adopting the initiative, while 50 were against it.
In total, 60 votes were needed to proceed with the legislative initiative.
Photo: Voting results
What preceded this
It was previously reported that on February 7, the U.S. Senate rejected support for a bill providing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as new funding for border security.
The current failed vote on the bill was anticipated as early as yesterday, as Republicans refused to support it.
It should be added that the day before, U.S. President Biden called on Congress to promptly approve new funding to aid Ukraine.
Earlier the U.S. Senate introduced a new bill regarding aid to Ukraine. It combines funding for aid to Ukraine, Israel, and strengthening the southern border of the U.S. However, the White House sharply criticized the bill for aid to Israel without Ukraine.
Question on the continuation of aid to Ukraine from the U.S.
At the end of October 2023, Biden appealed to the U.S. Congress to allocate over $105 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Under this request, Ukraine was slated to receive over $60 billion.
In addition to assistance to Ukraine, the request also included support for Israel, the development of the U.S. military-industrial complex, strengthening security in the Indo-Pacific region, humanitarian aid, funding for developing countries to create alternatives to Chinese programs, and bolstering security on the southern border of the U.S.
However, Biden's request faced stiff resistance from Republicans in Congress, particularly from so-called Trumpists in the U.S. House of Representatives. House Speaker Mike Johnson directly stated that he would not bring Biden's request to the floor for consideration because Republicans wanted Biden to address the situation on the border with Mexico.
To address this issue, negotiations were initiated in the U.S. between the White House, Democrats, and Republicans to create a bipartisan agreement that would address the border issue and unblock Biden's request.
Over the weekend, senators involved in crafting the agreement presented it to the floor. However, the agreement was met with a barrage of criticism in the House of Representatives, where it was stated that they would not consider it.
Yesterday, Biden urged Congress to promptly make a decision regarding funding for Ukraine's support and send the appropriate bill to his desk. Biden also blamed Donald Trump for creating obstacles to approving the deal on the Mexico border.
Following this, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other high-ranking officials stated that the Senate needed to step away from the border issue and separately consider funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
