US Senate prepares to give final approval to $95bn aid bills for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

The US Senate on Tuesday was preparing to give final approval to a $95bn wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with a bipartisan coalition eager to send the long-stalled package to Joe Biden’s desk for signature.

After months of delays and setbacks, the House last week passed four bills to rush funding to three American allies while approving a conservative proposal that could lead to a nationwide ban of the social media platform TikTok. The measures were combined into one large package that the Senate will take up on Tuesday.

The legislation includes $60.8bn to replenish Ukraine’s war chest as it seeks to repel Russia from its territory; $26.3bn for Israel and humanitarian relief for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8.1bn for the Indo-Pacific region to bolster its defenses against China.

In a move to bolster Republican support, the GOP-controlled House added legislation to the bill that would see TikTok banned in the US unless its Chinese parent company sells their stake within a year. Much of the foreign aid section of the bill mirrors what the Senate passed in February, with the addition of a measure mandating the president seek repayment from Kyiv for roughly $10bn in economic assistance in the form of “forgivable loans”, an idea first floated by Donald Trump.

The Senate was expected to pass the package, overriding concern among conservatives opposed to sending more money to Ukraine and progressives reluctant to send billions in offensive military funding to Israel for its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians in the territory.

Biden, who has been pressuring Congress to approve the foreign aid request for months, has said he would quickly sign it into law.

“The time has come to