Speaker Johnson's foreign aid package lives on with rare help from Democrats, teeing up weekend vote
Politics,Foreign Aid,Foreign Policy,US House,Polarization,Common Ground,Bipartisanship,Mike Johnson,Ukraine War,Israel Hamas Violence,Taiwan
House Speaker Mike Johnson leaned on significant help from Democrats to advance his $95 billion aid package on the House floor Friday, setting up final passage Saturday as he faces an increasingly disgruntled right flank threatening to oust him.
More than 160 House Democrats voted with the GOP to advance the four-part measure, which includes aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan along with a fourth bill containing sanctions against Russia and Iran and a provision requiring the social media company TikTok to divest from China.
The final vote to advance the bill was 316-94. Since 55 Republicans voted against it, support among Democrats outnumbered GOP backing.
Lawmakers will debate and vote on nearly a dozen amendments before a final vote on the bill Saturday.
President Biden has pledged to sign the legislation. His support helped provide enough Democratic votes to keep conservatives from sinking it.
