The House voted Thursday to approve a major aid package for Ukraine and expanded sanctions against Russia, marking another legislative rebuke of the Trump administration's foreign policy direction. The 226-195 vote cut across party lines, with 18 Republicans joining nearly all Democrats to advance the measure.
The Ukraine Support Act, introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, cleared the chamber only after enough Republicans broke ranks to overcome their party leadership's opposition to floor consideration. GOP leaders had blocked an earlier vote on the legislation.
The bill would authorize $8 billion in Foreign Military Financing loans to Ukraine and NATO allies, plus more than $1 billion in additional funding designated for Ukraine, Baltic security, and Radio Free Europe operations.
The outcome now sends the measure to the Senate, where Republicans hold greater control and the bill faces significantly steeper odds. Even if it clears that chamber, the legislation would require President Trump's signature to become law, and the administration has signaled opposition to new Ukraine aid.
The House vote followed a pattern established just a day earlier when four Republicans voted with Democrats to pass a separate resolution rebuking military action in Iran. That measure, also authored by Meeks, would compel the president to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran absent explicit congressional authorization. The Iran resolution was largely symbolic but reflected deepening cracks within the Republican caucus over executive war powers.
The streak of foreign policy defeats for the Trump administration's legislative agenda follows multiple failed attempts this year by Democrats and some Republicans to pass other war powers resolutions. The Ukraine and Iran votes suggest a small but consistent group of House Republicans are willing to vote against their leadership and the White House on international military commitments.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "These aren't symbolic gestures anymore; they're votes that directly challenge Trump's vision of scaling back U.S. commitments overseas, and the fact that they're passing shows how fragile GOP unity actually is on his core foreign policy."
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