A New Blow to Trump... The U.S. House Approves Aid for Ukraine and Sanctions on Russia

SadaNews - The U.S. House of Representatives approved late Thursday - Friday a bill to provide aid to Ukraine and impose new sanctions on Russia, in the latest indication of some Republicans' willingness to challenge their party leaders and stand against President Donald Trump.

The House voted in favor of the Ukraine support bill by a majority of 226 votes to 195, which was brought to a vote after being stalled for months. A few Republicans joined Democrats in signing a petition to force the House to hold a vote.

On Thursday, 18 Republicans and one independent who usually votes with them joined Democrats in passing the bill. This marked the latest indication of a rift in what was considered near-unanimous support among Trump party members for his policies.

The approval of the bill came a day after a smaller group of House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a resolution that would require Trump to halt military operations with Iran unless Congress formally declares war or issues a military force authorization.

However, the future of the Ukraine support bill remains uncertain, as its implementation requires passage by the Senate, where Republican leaders have not allowed votes on the bipartisan-supported sanctions legislation against Russia, stating they will wait for Trump's directives. If approved in the Senate, Trump is likely to veto it.

While many members of Congress from both parties strongly supported Ukraine in the early years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, some of Trump's Republican allies have become more indifferent toward Kyiv since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

U.S. aid to the Kyiv government has sharply slowed even as Russia and Ukraine exchanged missile and drone strikes along with artillery fire.

The Ukraine support bill includes measures to assist Ukraine in post-war reconstruction and authorizes over one billion dollars in aid to Kyiv and up to eight billion dollars in support through direct loans. It also imposes strict sanctions and export restrictions on Russia, including on financial institutions and the oil and mining sectors, as well as Russian officials.