WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Early Tuesday, Senators passed a $95.3 billion foreign aid package to help Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
The bill now heads to the House where it faces an uncertain future.
The bill’s passage in the Senate ends a drawn-out debate in the upper chamber but the drama has only begun in the House, where conservatives are vowing to sink the package.
President Joe Biden is urging House members to unite behind U.S. allies.
Biden says the House must finish the job of the Senate and green light billions in aid.
“House Republican, you’ve got to decide. Are you going to stand up for freedom or side with terror and tyranny?” Biden said.
Word of the vote reached Ukraine where President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Senate.
17 Senate Republicans joined Democrats to pass the bill but 29 voted no and did everything they could to slow its passage.
Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt and Utah’s Mike Lee criticized their Republican colleagues for voting yes.
“Why would 17 Republicans play any role in sending a bill to a majority Republican house. One that is destined to fail,” said Lee.
House Speaker Mike Johnson may block the bill.
“National security begins with border security,” Johnson said.
And the most conservative Republicans intend to back him up.
“It’s time for us to serve the American people,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
But President Biden is not ready to give up on helping Ukraine.
“We can’t walk away now,” he said.
The president and House democrats are calling on the speaker to bring the bill to a vote immediately.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to House democrats where he made it clear that democrats will use every available legislative tool to get comprehensive national security legislation over the finish line.
