Senate finally passes aid bills worth billions to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of delay

The US Senate on Tuesday finally sent a three-pronged aid package with military assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to President Joe Biden’s desk on Tuesday, ending months of delays that administration officials and top brass were increasingly blaming for Ukrainian battlefield casualties.

Senators voted 79-18 for the aid package in largely bipartisan fashion, with conservatives having mounted their opposition to the Ukraine portion of the bill similar to conservatives in the US House of Representatives. The legislation— which also includes a ride-along bill that addresses a potential ban of Chinese-owned TikTok — pased late in the evening on Tuesday with 15 Republican Senators and three members of the Senate Democratic caucus voting against it.

“America will never shrink from its responsibility as a leader on the world stage,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said ahead of the bill’s passage on Tuesday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell--an ardent supporter of Ukraine who pushed back against more nationalist forces in his party, including former president Donald Trump, stressed the necessity of America’s role in the world in a floor speech flanked by Democrats and Republicans.

“History will record that even as allies and partners may have worried about the depth of our resolve, even as Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran grew more convinced that our influence had run its course, and even as loud voices here at home insisted on abandoning the responsibilities of leadership,” he said. “America stepped up. And the Senate held firm.”

President Joe Biden said he would sign the legislation immediately.

“Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history’s call at