Legislation expected to pass but amendments on Israel and Ukraine could stall progress
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The long and winding road of Joe Biden’s proposal to send tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and other US allies may finally reach its conclusion today. Beginning at 1pm ET, the Senate is set to vote on a bill approved by the House of Representatives last week that authorizes the assistance – and forces TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest from the social media app in a year, or face a nationwide ban. The legislation is expected to pass, but not without some drama – independent senator Bernie Sanders says he will offer amendments to cut funding for Israel’s offensive operations, citing the humanitarian impact of its invasion of Gaza, and you may see other amendments offered by Republicans wary of backing Kyiv.
Assuming none of the amendments manage to stall its progress, and the bill makes it through the Senate, today will cap an odyssey that began in October when Joe Biden paired another round of funding for Ukraine’s defense against Russia with aid for Israel that he said was necessary in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack. For months, the bill had no clear path to passage, largely due to Republican resistance to funding Ukraine, and their demands for strict border security measures. But that resistance crumbled last week when House speaker Mike Johnson decided to allow a vote on the aid despite not getting the immigration changes he wanted, handing Biden and Ukraine’s supporters in the GOP, notably top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, an important foreign policy victory. We’ll let you know how it’s looking as the Senate convenes later today.
Biden is heading to Tampa, Florida, to campaign in a state he hopes to win in November, even though it hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 2012. The president will condemn the state’s six-week abortion ban, which takes effect next week.
Primaries are happening all over the country today, including in Pennsylvania, where progressive Democrat Summer Lee faces a challenger backed by a pro-Israel group.
Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan continues, with judge Juan Merchan considering whether the former president violated a gag order. Follow our live blog for more.