Just one day after the House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at ending the war with Iran, 18 Republicans sided with Democrats.
Ukraine says Russian night attack hits Kiev
Russian forces launched nighttime attacks across Ukraine on June 2, killing 13 people and wounding more than 100, according to Ukraine’s interior minister.
The House of Representatives again overrode proposals from Republican leaders to pass legislation approving billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia.
The Ukraine Assistance Act was passed on Thursday, June 4, after 18 Republicans sided with Democrats. The vote was 226-195.
Although the bill has little chance of becoming law, it is yet another rebuke from Republicans in Congress of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach. The day before, the House of Representatives took a largely symbolic vote in favor of ending the Iran war (and the Senate recently advanced a similar measure).
Subscribe to “About Politics”: Stay ahead of the midterm elections with our daily politics newsletter.
Repeated condemnations by Congress of the White House’s overseas strategy have increasingly become a political liability for Republicans in a year of midterm elections that will affect President Trump’s remaining second term.
The Ukraine Assistance Act, proposed by New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, passed the House of Representatives only because Republicans supported Democrats in a once-unusual legislative trick: crossing the aisle to force the bill to a vote. This mechanism, known as a “dismissal petition,” has historically been rarely used, but is becoming increasingly common in the 119th Congress, which has a razor-thin Republican majority.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him at @ZachSchermele on X and @zachschermele.bsky.social on Bluesky..
