US House advances Ukraine-Israel package after rare bipartisan show, far-right fumes

The House took a critical step on Friday toward approving a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, as Democrats supplied the crucial votes to push the legislation past Republican opposition so that it could be considered on the floor.
The 316-94 vote cleared the way for the House to bring up the aid package, teeing up separate votes on Saturday on each of its parts.But passage of those measures, each of which enjoys bipartisan support from different coalitions, was not in doubt, making Friday's action the key indicator that the legislation will prevail.
The rule for considering the bill - historically a straight party-line vote - passed with more Democratic than Republican support, but it also won a majority of GOP votes, making it clear that despite a pocket of deep resistance from the far right, there is broad bipartisan backing for the $95.3 billion package.
The vote was an enormous victory in the long effort to fund Ukraine as it battles against Russian aggression, a major priority of Prez Biden that has met with bitter resistance from the right. It was a triumph against the forces of isolationism within the GOP and a major moment of bipartisan consensus in a Congress that for the past year has been mostly defined by its dysfunction. But it came only after Speaker Mike Johnson, who put his own job on the line to push through the plan over his party's objections, was forced to turn to Democrats in a significant breach of custom in the House, further imperiling his position even as he paved the way for the legislation to be voted on and approved.
It was the second time during this Congress that Republicans have had to rely on Democratic votes in the House to even bring to the floor legislation to address a critical issue. They did so last year to allow for a vote to suspend the debt ceiling bill and avoid a catastrophic federal default.
Many Republicans spoke on Friday in favour of the legislation to send aid to Ukraine and Israel. But the far-right flank of the Republican conference, which has wielded outsized power in a tiny majority, spoke out to oppose the bill. "I'm concerned that the speaker's cut a deal with the Democrats to fund foreign wars rather than secure our border," said Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, one of the most vocal opponents of the legislation who has threatened to vote to oust Johnson because of it.
In order to steer around opposition from members of his own party, Johnson broke down the package into three pieces, adding a fourth bill to sweeten the deal for conservatives. The rule was critical toJohnson's strategy, because it allows separate votes on aid to Israel and aid to Ukraine, which are supported by different coalitions, but then folds them together without requiring lawmakers to cast an up-or-down vote on the entire bill.