US Senate approves $95bn bill that includes aid to Ukraine

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The US Senate has approved a $95bn national security funding bill including new aid to Ukraine, but the legislation risks languishing in the House of Representatives because of opposition from Donald Trump.

The final vote on the bill in the Senate followed weeks of pressure from the Biden administration and a deepening rift among Republican senators on the merits of providing more assistance to Ukraine, alongside the broader question of America’s role in the world.

A total of 70 senators backed the legislation — which includes aid for Israel, Gaza and Taiwan — in its final vote early on Tuesday, while 29 opposed it.

Proponents of the aid package — including the White House, most Democrats and traditional Republicans — have argued that abandoning Ukraine could lead to Russian gains on the battlefield and embolden China to invade Taiwan.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday released a statement urging the House, which is controlled by Republicans, “to move on this with urgency”. Biden cannot enact the bill unless it passes both chambers of Congress.

“There are those who say American leadership and our alliances and partnerships with countries around the world do not matter. They do. If we do not stand against tyrants who seek to conquer or carve up their neighbours’ territory, the consequences for America’s national security will be significant,” Biden said.

But Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House who is close to Trump, poured cold water on the prospects for the bill on Monday night, saying the lower chamber would “work its own will” and “America deserves better than the Senate’s status quo”.

The stand-off on Capitol Hill has highlighted how Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in this year’s presidential election, has tightened his grip on the party in the realm of foreign policy….