The US Senate has blocked an emergency spending bill to provide billions of dollars in new military assistance to Israel and Ukraine.
The package would include roughly $60 billion to help Ukraine keep up pressure on Russia and more than $10 billion for the ongoing Israeli aggression in the besieged Gaza Strip. Some part of the package had also been allocated for Taiwan.
The emergency spending bill included $20 billion for border security.
The vote was 49 in favor to 51 against. But 60 votes were needed in the 100-member Senate to pave the way to start debating the $110.5-billion measure.
Republicans demand tougher border policies with Mexico in exchange for supporting funding to Kiev.
Republicans also contend they want more accountability than they are getting from the administration of President Joe Biden for US taxpayer funds that go to Ukraine.
If the negotiations over the legislation do not produce results in the coming days, the bill could be delayed until after the Christmas holidays.
Some senators are proposing working through the holiday to reach a compromise. However, even if the bill passes the Senate, it would still need to be approved in the Republican-majority House of Representatives, where dozens of Republicans voted against aid to Ukraine.
In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, who voted against aid to Kiev before he took on this job, has made clear he will not agree to sending any more money for Ukraine war.
Biden has led the global coalition backing Kiev, but support has been waning among Republicans in Congress, and the administration has warned that it will run out of money for more Ukraine aid in weeks unless lawmakers act.
Biden recently spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of the G7 nations to discuss how to shore up Western aid for Kiev.
Zelensky warned the leaders that Moscow was counting on Western unity to “collapse” next year and said Russia had ramped up pressure on the front lines of the war.
Every Senate Republican voted No along with Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who generally votes with the Democrats but had expressed concerns about funding Israel’s “current inhumane military strategy” against the Palestinians.
Sanders censures unconditional US military aid to Israel
Sanders said he did not think the United States “should be appropriating $10.1 billion for the right-wing, extremist” regime of Israel to continue the onslaught. He said what the Netanyahu regime was doing is “immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the US should not be complicit in those actions.”
Despite the soaring deaths in Gaza, the Biden administration is not considering using any leverage it has over Israel.
The current campaign in southern Gaza, where there are thousands of displaced civilians, is no less brutal than Israeli operations in the north.
The unconditional US aid to Israel has involved near-daily weapons shipments, including thousands of massive bombs, and the deployment of more American firepower to the region.
The Palestinian health ministry says Israel has killed more than 350 lives in the past day, raising the death toll since October 7 to over 17,000.
