US Senate passes $95bn aid bill for Ukraine, Israel & Taiwan

© Greg Willis / CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Democratic majority US Senate has voted to provide an aid package to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, worth $95.34bn. This comes amid increasing doubts about that aid package's future in the Republican controlled House of Representatives.

The Senate gathered the 60 votes needed to pass the bill through to the House of Representatives. President Joe Biden has been calling for the package to be pushed though, and recently requested funds for Israel after Hamas's 7 October attack, and humanitarian aid for Palestinian's in Gaza.

The package may struggle to be accepted in the House of Representatives where Republican Speaker, Mike Johnson, has criticised it for 'lacking conservative provisions to stem a record flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border'.

“In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” Johnson said in a statement late on Monday.

The $95bn package includes $61bn for Ukraine, $14bn for Israel, $4.8bn to support US partners in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan, and $9bn in humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.