Republicans Join Democrats on Foreign Aid Bills in 'Incredibly Rare' Move

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 16: U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 16, 2024 in Washington, DC. Johnson addressed legislative plans in the House this week and answered a question about potential efforts to remove him from his leadership role during the press conference. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Republicans and Democrats voted together to approve a rule to debate foreign aid bills, in what has been described as an “incredibly rare” move.

The House Rules Committee approved a rule late Thursday to move a long-debated $95.3 billion foreign aid package to the floor for a vote.

The rule was passed by nine votes to three, with all the dissent coming from Republicans.

The Context

Congress has for months been wrangling over an aid package, approved by the Senate in March.

While it has the support of Democrats, some Republicans such as Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene have been vocal in their opposition to sending further aid to Ukraine. Last month, they introduced a motion to vacate Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, criticizing a $1.2 trillion spending bill to fund government agencies.

Meanwhile, the Republicans have a very slim majority in the House, making it difficult to pass contentious legislation without full party support.

Newsweek contacted Johnson’s office by email outside of office hours to comment on this story.

What We Know

The House will take up the aid package as three separate aid bills for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region and a fourth one that includes a TikTok ban and other national security priorities; they will be stitched together in one measure.

Seven amendments will be considered in the rule.

The Republicans who voted against the rule were Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, Chip Roy of Texas, and South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman.

Views

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, PBS NewsHour journalist Lisa Desjardins called the bipartisan support for the rule “incredibly rare.”

Conservative group the House Freedom Caucus signaled its opposition to the rule.

“The House Freedom Caucus will vote NO on rule for the ‘America Last’ foreign wars supplemental package with zero border security, and urge all House Republicans to do the same,” the group said in a statement posted on X.

What Is Next?

Voting on the bills will be voted on Friday, with a final passage vote expected on Saturday.

If they pass, they will then be combined into one amendment before being sent to the Senate.

President Joe Biden has pledged to sign them into law if they pass.

Update 4/19/24, 3:45 a.m. EST: This story has been updated with additional information and background.

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