House moves forward on new aid for Ukraine package, spurning Trump
Six Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday to push through a vote on military aid for Ukraine, a blow to President Trump’s handling of Russia’s war against the country and his withdrawal of U.S. support for Kyiv.
The House voted 218-204 in a procedural motion that clears the way for a vote on the Ukraine Support Act, authored by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“This vote is not a process vote, it’s a statement on whether this Congress and all of its members stand with and support Ukraine and the people of Ukraine, and its fight for freedom, its fight for democracy, and its fight for liberty,” Meeks said on the floor following the vote.
The bill, first introduced in April 2025, sat in limbo as Republicans under Trump’s direction, halted efforts to provide additional support for Ukraine. The president framed U.S. support for the country as a waste of money and launched a series of failed bids to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his war.
It provides $8 billion in military financing loans to Ukraine, extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) through 2027, which allows for the U.S. to send Ukraine weapons directly from Pentagon stockpiles, additional sanctions against Russia, among other provisions.
Meeks filed a discharge petition on the Ukraine Support Act in July to try to force a floor vote. The turning point came in May, when California Rep. Kevin Kiley — a Republican turned Independent after his district was eliminated in redistricting — became the 218th signature allowing the vote to proceed.
The petition only garnered two Republican signatories, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Don Bacon (Neb.), with other hawkish GOP Ukraine supporters reluctant to buck the president or Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
“It’s between Ukraine or Putin, I choose Ukraine,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) answered when asked how he would vote on the discharge petition.
But Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said he opposed the vote on principle.
“I don’t believe in discharge petitions, except when we were on the outs, I have signed a few,” he told The Hill. “But by and large I believe in the committee process.”
The text of the bill is out of date, with money specified for the USAI fund at less than what Congress appropriated for that fund through the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which was $400 million. It also calls for NATO member states to commit to spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense, while NATO member states in 2025 have largely pledged to meet 5 percent spending of GDP for their defense.
“Anyone voting for this is saying that Ukraine should have $100 million less funding and that NATO countries should be spending 2 percent of their GDP on national defense rather than percent. That is the exact opposite of aiding Ukraine,” said a senior House GOP source.
But supporters counter that any discrepancies in the text can be fixed by the Senate. However, there’s little expectation that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will buck Trump by bringing up Ukraine aid for a vote.
Still, Ukraine’s supporters view the vote on the Meeks bill as sending a strong signal of U.S. support for Ukraine at a time when Russia is escalating devastating strikes against the country and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly pleaded for Trump to provide Patriot interceptors to guard against ballistic missiles.
“We can destroy all kinds of drones, we can destroy a lot of different missiles, but we don’t have, still, in our total programming system, we don’t have anti-ballistic,” Zelensky told CBS’s Margaret Brennan in an interview recorded on May 29.
Zelensky said that the U.S. and Europe had provided Ukraine with intelligence that Russia would launch a massive attack, pleading for the air defenses to help defend the country.
Overnight Monday, Russia launched one of its largest missile and drone attacks against Ukraine, with 73 missiles and 656 drones. Approximately 28 people were killed across the country, and more than 100 injured. Between May 25 and Monday, Russia launched 2,300 attack drones, 1,560 guided bombs and 108 missiles.
“Congress must get on the right side of history & support a democracy, free market nation who wants to ally w/ us, and to oppose a thug who is invading its neighbor,” Bacon posted on the social media site X, responding to a report about Johnson’s opposition to the Meeks bill.
“We’ve waited long enough to help Ukraine & put sanctions on Russia. This is our Churchill vs Chamberlain moment.”
Updated: 6:02 p.m. EDT
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