The Senate passed a motion to invoke cloture on the supplemental foreign aid package after both Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell urged passage of the bills. (Getty Images)
Included in the package of bills is aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as a measure requiring TikTok to divest from Chinese-owned ByteDance, and the REPO Act, which would allow $5 billion in Russian assets held in U.S. banks to be transferred to Ukraine.
Schumer pleaded with fellow senators in remarks on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, telling them, "Let us not delay this. Let us not prolong this. Let us not keep our friends around the world waiting for a moment longer."
SCHUMER LOOKS TO EXPEDITE $95 BILLION ISRAEL, UKRAINE AID PACKAGE THROUGH SENATE
An Israeli tank moves near the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel, on Thursday, April 11. (AP/Tsafrir Abayov)
The Senate initially passed a foreign aid package to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did not move quickly to bring the measure to the House floor for a vote. And when Johnson ultimately brought aid for a vote in the lower chamber, it was a different version, prompting the bills to be sent back to the Senate before they can head to Biden for a signature.
The initial package had passed the Senate with overwhelming support, by a vote of 70 to 29.
DEMOCRATS JOIN REPUBLICANS IN CONDEMNING ANTISEMITISM AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Additional Ukraine aid was first requested by Biden in October. (Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The package faces some pushback from senators on both sides of the aisle. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, for example, is against the continued aid to Ukraine, citing the amount of aid already given to the country, as well as the potential of humanitarian aid getting into the hands of Hamas terrorists. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also has reservations over the package due to the continued aid to Israel. He has previously criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the high civilian death toll in Gaza.
However, the opposition from these senators and others doesn't appear to be widespread enough to threaten the bills' passage.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-advances-95b-ukraine-israel-aid-package-setting-stage-expedited-vote