President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday an aid package delivering vital military support to Ukraine, concluding months of deliberation and negotiation.
The aid package, valued at $95 billion, secured late Tuesday by the Senate, allocates nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region. Notably, it also includes a provision that could lead to banning TikTok in the United States, giving Chinese parent company ByteDance a nine-month window to sell the app or face expulsion from US app stores.
The signing of the aid package marks the culmination of intense negotiations, including personal appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and internal divisions within the House Republican conference. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership faced threats due to dissent from hardline conservatives opposed to increased funding for Ukraine, viewing it as an unwise investment in an ongoing conflict.
Biden, alongside top administration officials and CIA Director Bill Burns, had persistently advocated for aid to Ukraine, emphasizing the broader implications for European democracy if Russia’s military actions went unchecked.
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Earlier, Biden had signaled his willingness to negotiate significant immigration-related concessions in exchange for progress on the aid bill. However, Republican demands for such concessions waned after former President Donald Trump voiced opposition, keen to preserve the issue for his political agenda.
The Senate’s final vote stood at 79-18, with fifteen Republicans and three Democrats opposing the bill. Among the dissenting Democrats was Senator Bernie Sanders, who cited objections to further funding for Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.