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House Democrats scored a rare victory on Wednesday after the chamber voted to advance a security package providing new military aid for Ukraine and imposing steep sanctions on Russia.
The Democrat-sponsored legislation cleared a procedural vote 218-204 with all Democrats present voting in the affirmative. Seven members of the House Republican conference supported the measure in a notable display of defiance against GOP leadership.
The security package would reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO, authorize more than $1 billion in new military assistance, support Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, and impose new sanctions on Russia and entities that support its war effort if Moscow continues the war, among other provisions.
The measure now heads for a vote on final passage, where it is expected to pass as soon as Thursday.
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Its fate in the Republican-controlled Senate remains uncertain, where a bipartisan effort to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia has stalled for more than a year despite overwhelming support. Trump is expected to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.
The vote came after Democrats and a handful of Republicans teamed up to force consideration of the legislation over the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who controls the floor.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., crossed party lines to sign the Democratic-led discharge petition, a legislative maneuver that allows lawmakers to trigger a vote on legislation with majority support.
“This is our opportunity to provide the leverage that could prove decisive in ending this conflict on acceptable terms in a way that will deter future Russian aggression,” Kiley, an independent who caucuses with Republicans, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“It’s just inconceivable that we should not be having additional sanctions against working with Putin,” Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who supported the underlying bill’s advancement, told Fox News. “Over and over again, we need to be standing with the courageous people of Ukraine.”
“We need to stop what Putin is doing, which is trying to resurrect the Soviet Union,” he added.
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The measure was vigorously opposed by Republican leadership, who argued the pro-Ukraine measure was poorly drafted and undermined the administration’s efforts to end the years-long conflict, which has been estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands.
The bill calls for NATO countries to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP prior to NATO’s Washington Summit — an event that occurred nearly two years ago in July 2024. Trump also secured a newer commitment from allies in 2025 to hike defense spending to 5% of their economic output over the course of a decade.
Additionally, the legislation mandates that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a taxpayer-funded outlet, have its funding restored after the Trump administration sought to cut off the outlet’s congressionally approved funding in 2025. Federal courts later ordered the funding restored amid an ongoing legal battle.
The Russia-Ukraine war has continued with no end in sight, despite Trump’s vow to end the conflict upon returning to office.
Proponents of the Ukraine Support Act argue that the legislative branch should pressure the Trump administration to take a harder line against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This is the moment for Congress to assert itself,” Kiley told Fox News Digital. “We’re seeing just further brutality on the part of Russia now, and so I think that if Congress gets involved in a meaningful way, it could provide the decisive leverage to finally bring about a resolution.”
The successful discharge petition is the latest instance in which a majority of lawmakers have worked around Johnson’s opposition to put legislation on the floor.
“Democrats have repeatedly governed in the minority as if we were in the majority, and we’re going to do so again this week,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Tuesday, arguing his party is displaying support for “the free world, for democracy, for truth and the Ukrainian people” by forcing a vote on the security package.
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The use of discharge petitions, a rarely used tool historically deployed by the minority, has exploded under Johnson’s leadership.
A coalition of Democrats and a handful of Republicans has used the legislative maneuver to force votes on legislation compelling the release of the Epstein files, extending legal protections to Haitian nationals and overturning a regulation targeting federal employees’ collective bargaining rights.
