Utah Sen. Mike Lee rallying Senate to kill foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel

Apr 23, 2024, 7:03 AM | Updated: 3:18 pm

tank fires at troops in ukraine, sen mike lee is trying to kill a foreign aid bill in the senate...

A Ukrainian tank fires in Chasiv Yar, the site of battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Feb. 29. Utah Sen. Mike Lee hopes to block the Senate passage of a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies. (Efrem Lukatsky, Associated Press)

(Efrem Lukatsky, Associated Press)

BY BRIDGER BEAL-CVETKO, KSL.COM

KSLNewsRadio

WASHINGTON — With the House of Representatives’ weekend approval of a long-awaited foreign aid package, the question of military support to Israel and Ukraine is now in the hands of the Senate, where Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is trying to rally opponents to “kill the bill.”

Representatives approved a series of foreign aid bills Saturday totaling $95 billion to Israel, Ukraine and other allies on a bipartisan basis after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, agreed to bring the bills to a vote over opposition and threats to oust him from some in his own caucus. President Joe Biden has promised to approve the package if passed by the Senate, which will consider the aid as a single bill.

But Lee — who has repeatedly criticized efforts to send further military and economic aid to Ukraine — called the package “unadulterated capitulation” and appeared to try to bolster support for opposing a vote to close debate on the bill, which requires a 60-vote majority. In several posts, he accused some Republicans of being “progressive” for working with Democrats to pass the aid.

“This bill — the $95 billion menace passed by the House today — can’t pass the Senate with Democrats alone,” he posted on social platform X on Saturday. “If just 41 of the 49 Republicans in the Senate vote ‘no,’ this bill will be stopped dead in its tracks.”

He also said the bill would give $9 billion to the Hamas terrorist group, referring to money provided for humanitarian aid for people in the Gaza Strip — many of whom are women and children — amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.