Rule for debate on war supplemental heads to House floor

Facing GOP defections and no Democratic support, the Rules Committee was unable to advance a rule for that measure Wednesday night, instead scrapping the meeting altogether. House leaders agreed Thursday to take up the bill on the floor under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority vote that clearly doesn’t exist.

Roy said the separate border bill was “just a sideshow that wasn’t going to result in anything.” He added that the rule under consideration Thursday for the aid package “will not include anything that touches the border.”

The aid bills for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific largely mirror a Senate-passed combined measure, with $60.8 billion for the Ukraine war effort, and nearly $26.4 billion in military aid to Israel and humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

The third bill, totaling $8.1 billion, would provide nearly $4 billion in security assistance to Taiwan and other regional allies along with money to replenish depleted U.S. stocks, $3.3 billion for submarine infrastructure and more.

But unlike the Senate-passed version, roughly $9.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine would be structured as a loan, with repayment terms set by the president.

A fourth bill tacked onto the package would impose sanctions on Russia and Iran, on multinational criminal organizations for fentanyl trafficking, Iranian petroleum and missiles, among other matters. The legislation also targets the TikTok social media platform, and would give Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. up to a year to divest the app.

President Joe Biden, who has pushed for the aid package since the Senate passed it in February, said Wednesday he “strongly” supports the House bills.

Progress on the aid package came amid reports of Israeli missile strikes on targets in Iran, a response to Iranian drone and missile attacks against Israeli targets on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the House adopted a resolution condemning the Iranian attack, endorsing Israel’s right to defend itself and reaffirming the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security. The vote was 404-14; most of the “no” votes were Democrats, with Massie the lone Republican opponent.

Cluster munitions

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