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Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky speaks to reporters before a Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on December 12, 2023 in Washington, DC.
The Senate is working to pass a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel, but Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has used arcane and complicated chamber rules to push the House bill through. The final vote could take several days as the government seeks to slow down the process. weekend.
The chamber cleared the critical 60-vote threshold for passage of the bill on Thursday and held another procedural vote Friday night. But absent agreement from all 100 senators to speed up the process and quickly pass the bill, the Senate is expected to work through the weekend and take a final vote next week.
“I think we should stay here as long as time allows,” Paul told CNN's Manu Raju on Thursday. “If it takes a week or a month, we'll force them to stay here to discuss why we think the Ukrainian border is more important than the U.S. border.”
On Friday, senators continued negotiating amendments to the package – how many votes, what types and how many votes each would need to pass.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pushed for a time agreement to speed up the process.
“I hope that my Republican colleagues can work together to reach agreement on an amendment and move this process forward,” the New York Democrat said. “As we have demonstrated numerous times over the past three years, Democrats are willing to bring reasonable and fair amendments to the floor. Nevertheless, the Senate will hold on to this bill until the work is done.” I’ll keep working on it.”
But lawmakers are considering a foreign aid bill after Republicans blocked a sweeping bill that would combine foreign aid with a bipartisan border agreement. Republicans initially demanded that border security be included in the bill, but continued to reject bipartisan agreement after strong attacks on the bill from former President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders.
The final vote on the foreign aid package will be preceded by a series of additional procedural votes, including over the weekend.
If the bill ultimately passes the Senate, it will then go to the House, but it is unclear when or if Speaker Mike Johnson will vote on the bill. Many House Republicans oppose further aid to Ukraine.
Senate Republicans are currently divided over the foreign aid package, with some calling for amendments to the bill, including adding measures related to immigration and border policy.
The foreign aid package includes billions of dollars for aid to Ukraine, security assistance to Israel, and humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine.
According to the Senate Appropriations Report, the bill includes $60 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, $14.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance, and $48 billion to support regional partners in the Indo-Pacific region. Includes billions of dollars. Committee.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday stressed the need to pass a foreign aid package, pushing back against criticism from the right that the aid amounts to charity, saying the bill would increase U.S. defense production and boost the economy. He emphasized that it would be revitalized.
“We are literally spending tens of billions of dollars here in the United States to improve our nation's capabilities, create American manufacturing jobs, and build the capabilities of our defense industry to better compete with our advanced adversaries. It means expanding,” the Kentucky Republican said. “Overall, more than 75% of this legislation is directed toward investment here in the United States, even accounting for direct aid that goes to allies like Israel.”
This article and heading have been updated with additional developments.
