These 22 Senate Republicans Just Betrayed Their Own Party

The Senate approved a foreign aid bill worth $95 billion on Tuesday, paving its way to the House where its fate remains uncertain.

With a majority of 70-29, the bill received support from 22 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Notably, it allocated $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, and $10 billion for humanitarian assistance in war-torn areas, including Gaza, as reported by The New York Times.

According to The Hill, Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri proclaimed that “It’s lifeless in the House” during the lengthy deliberation. However, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell emphasized the significance of passing the bill.

“I know it’s become quite fashionable in some circles to disregard the global interests we have as a global power, to bemoan the responsibility of global leadership, to lament the commitment that has underpinned the longest drought of great power conflict in human history,” he said.

“This is idle work for idle minds. And it has no place in the United States Senate,” he said

Based on the Senate roll call, McConnell received support for the bill from various Republican Senators including Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, John Thune and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana, Mitt Romney of Utah, Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas, John Boozman of Arkansas, Mike Crapo and James Risch of Idaho, John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

On the other hand, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent, voted against the bill, along with Democratic Sens. Peter Welch of Vermont and Jeff Merkely of Oregon. Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming did not cast a vote. According to the Times, House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed in a statement on Monday night that unless the bill addressed the needs of the southern border, it was unlikely to make progress in the House.

“House Republicans were crystal clear from the very beginning of discussions that any so-called national security supplemental legislation must recognize that national security begins at our own border,” Johnson said in a statement.

“In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” he said.

The House possesses a procedural tactic known as a petition to discharge, which has the potential to bring the bill to the floor without Johnson’s approval. However, this would necessitate the support of 218 House members, thereby requiring a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans to take action. Contrarily, the bill caused division among Republicans in the Senate.

“Why did Republicans stab their voters in their back?” Republican Sen. J.D. Vance said.

Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who supported the legislation, emphasized the importance of defeating Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.

“If it only stays this bad for the next couple of years, Putin is losing,” he said, saying that prolonging the war could make Putin weaker, the Time reported. “And that’s damn sure worth $60 billion, or $600 billion, to get rid of him.”

But Sen. Rand Paul was an open critic of the bill.

“A literal invasion is coming across our border. And all they had time to do in the Senate was get the money, get the cash pallets, load the planes, get the champagne ready and fly to Kyiv,” he said.