The U.S. Senate has to advance the $118.28 billion package that would appropriate funding for foreign aid and border security by a vote of 49-50.
“The Senate on Wednesday voted down the $118 billion military and border bill as Republican leadership came out against the legislation before the vote.
The bill needed 60 votes to pass and failed in a vote of 49/50. Only four Republicans voted in favor of the legislation, and only five Democrats voted against it.
Senate Democrats are furious with Republicans since the legislation took months to negotiate. Republicans now say the bill would not do enough to crack down on the border and are looking for more concessions on migrant policy.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said the bill would be dead on arrival once it reached his chamber. Democrats are blaming former President Trump for the Republican opposition since he came out strongly against the border deal.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is looking to push through a $95 billion bill that strips out the border provisions and just includes the military aid. The bill includes about $60 billion for the Ukraine proxy war, $14 billion for the Israeli slaughter in Gaza, and $4.8 billion for Taiwan and other spending in the Asia Pacific”. -Dave DeCamp, Antiwar
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer went so far as to issue a warning suggesting that failure to pass the national security supplemental package could bring the United States closer to a direct conflict with Russia in Ukraine, despite the fact that Ukraine is not a NATO member and therefore not under U.S. protection.
“If we don’t aid Ukraine, Putin will be walk all over Ukraine, we will lose the war and we could be fighting in eastern Europe and a NATO ally in a few years. Americans won’t like that”, Schumer stated.