By Sahil Kapur, Julie Tsirkin, Frank Thorp V and Kate Santaliz -
NBC News
The Senate voted Thursday afternoon in favor of a disaggregated bill that would provide aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, a day after House Republicans rejected a bipartisan border security and foreign aid bill.
The vote by 67 votes in favor and 32 against means that the Senate can begin to study the $95 billion package, although the next steps are uncertain and it is not yet clear if the necessary votes will be obtained in Congress for its approval. final.
“It's a good first step.
“This bill is essential to our national security,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, after the vote.
“Not approving it would only embolden autocrats like Putin and Xi, who want nothing more than the decline of the United States.
“We now hope to reach an agreement with our Republican colleagues.”
Schummer specified that the Senate would continue with it “until the work is done.”
While nearly all Democrats favor passage, House Republicans are divided over whether to approve the bill or sabotage it.
They met in the morning to discuss their options
and possible demands for amendments to speed up approval.
“I think if we get down to it, we should use every lever we can to get the votes for the right amendments,” explained Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota.
“Either way, it's not going to be fast.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, who voted to move forward with the bill after opposing it Wednesday, said Republicans discussed trying to add border modifications to the new deal, “but it's clear that There are a lot of people on our side who feel that the former president's comments meant that he really didn't want to see something like that right now.
And that has had a lot of weight.”
Chuck Schumer at the US Capitol, January 17, 2024. Drew Angerer / Getty Images file
Some senators indicated that the chamber could stay over the weekend to finish it.
And Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has vowed to block the Senate from speeding up the process, which would require unanimous consent of all 100 senators.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, explained: “It has to be brought to fruition and then we, as a conference, will have to own the outcome if we decide to stop it.”
Furthermore, he assured that
“Schumer would do well to keep us here until we solve it.
These people say we have to calm down or take a few weeks off, I don't understand it.”
This latest effort could be the last chance to approve aid to Ukraine for the foreseeable future, a top priority for President Joe Biden that is supported by many lawmakers in Congress but opposed by a broad faction of conservatives. in both chambers.
If the bill passes the Democratic-controlled Senate, it would move to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where prospects are also uncertain.
There, the president, Republican Mike Johnson, did not indicate Wednesday whether he would allow a vote and said: “we will see what the Senate does.”
[These are the details of the bipartisan immigration agreement that imposes stricter control]
Senators prefer to close the aid package before the 15-day recess scheduled for next week.
After that, Congress' priority will be a government funding deadline in early March.
The Senate blocked the border bill in a 49-50 vote Wednesday afternoon, with only four Republican senators voting in favor.
The rest opposed the deal, saying it was not enough to combat record migrant crossings at the southern border, after initially asking for border provisions to be included in the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, then tried to push through an independent aid package for Israel and Ukraine, without the border measures.
“We're going to adjourn until tomorrow and give our Republican colleagues the night to figure it out,” Schumer said Wednesday night before adjourning the Senate.
“We'll be back tomorrow at noon and we hope that gives the Republicans the time they need.
We will have this vote tomorrow.”
In addition to foreign aid, the slimmed-down package would also include provisions against fentanyl trafficking, a Senate Democratic aide said.
The new foreign aid bill was met Wednesday over lunch with skepticism by Senate Republicans, three sources in the room said.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., predicted early Thursday that a procedural vote on a relief bill would pass, with no clarity on what comes next.
“So we are on a midnight train to nowhere,” he said.