The Senate voted on Monday evening to advance a bill to send $40 billion more aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia, setting up a final vote possibly on Wednesday.
The tally was 81 to 11 on the first of a potential three procedural votes paving the way for final Senate passage of the funding, requested by President Joe Biden’s administration to keep aid flowing and boost the government in Kyiv nearly three months after the start of the Russian invasion.
All 11 anti votes were Republicans showing how an isolationist Donald Trump-allied wing of the party has split off from the mainstream.
They were:
Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee)
John Boozman (Arkansas)
Mike Braun (Indiana)
Mike Crapo (Idaho)
Bill Hagerty (Tennessee)
Josh Hawley (Montana)
Mike Lee (Utah)
Elaine Lummis (Wyoming)
Roger Marshall (Kansas)
Rand Paul (Kentucky)
Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
It comes after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell led a delegation to the region in a show of support for Ukraine.
‘There’s always been isolationist voices in the Republican Party,’ he told reporters on a conference call over the weekend from Stockholm.
‘It won’t create a problem, we’ll get the job done.’
Trump set the stage for a split with a statement on Friday criticizing Congress for pushing an aid package when American parents were running short of baby formula.
‘The Democrats are sending another $40 billion to Ukraine, yet America’s parents are struggling to even feed their children,’ he said in an emailed statement.
Sen. Bill Hagerty announced his plan to vote against the bill on Sunday.
‘I certainly don’t have anything against the Ukrainians,’ he told Fox News
‘We want to see them win, but pumping more aid into that country when we’re not taking care of our own country — the best thing that Biden could do is stop the war that he’s waged on American industry.’
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri tweeted of his no vote: ‘That’s not isolationism. That’s nationalism.’
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky single-handedly blocked a vote on the latest package last week as he demanded an inspector general’s report on how the money is being spent.
The House passed the measure by 368 to 57, with substantial Republican support, despite all 57 of the ‘no’ votes in the House coming from Republicans.
This is an excerpt from The Daily Mail.
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