$95B Ukraine Aid Bill: Republicans Challenge Historical Views On Foreign Policy, US Role As World's Cop

The U.S. Senate passed a $95-billion foreign policy package on Tuesday meant to subsidize Ukraine's efforts against Russia, as well as Israel's campaign against Hamas.

The bill also includes $10 billion to be used in humanitarian aid for civilians in war zones, including Palestinians trapped in Gaza. A minor budget is allocated to securing Taiwan's independence from China and the Red Sea against Yemen's Houthi movement.

The Senate passage was bipartisan, with a 79-30 vote that included most Senate Democrats and key figures in the Republican Party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Yet the bill reflects internal fractures within the GOP, where a clear split is occurring between those that seek to sustain the dominant role of the U.S. in the geopolitical arena and those who would prefer a retreat from global affairs that don't directly affect the country.

A growing group of Washington, D.C. lawmakers are looking to take the political focus away from global conflict, diverting efforts toward further securing U.S. borders against illegal immigration.

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The bill faces hard odds at the House, where the most conservative Republicans as well as Speaker Mike Johnson have expressed disapproval of the legislation, including a broader bill introduced last week in the Senate that combined the same issues with a major change to border policy.

The joint bill was nonetheless turned down by Senate Republicans, who opposed treating border security issues in combination with financial aid to foreign nations.

"Now it's up to the House: Meet this moment, do the right thing and save democracy," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.

Schumer went on to say that killing the Ukraine bill in the House would be "an enormous gift to Vladimir Putin." The bill would grant $60.1 billion for Kyiv, bringing total aid to Ukraine above $170 billion since the war broke out.

"With this bill, the Senate declares that American leadership will not waver, will not falter, will not fail,” Schumer said Monday.

The House’s Johnson such a bill would not be welcomed by House Republicans.

"House Republicans were crystal clear from the very beginning of discussions that any so-called national security supplemental legislation must recognize that national security begins at our own border," he said.

While the speakership gives him the power to block the bill from a floor vote, House Democrats and moderate Republicans can force a vote via signature collection if they can gather a majority of representatives, according to a New York Times report.

Among those opposing the bill are also Republicans siding with former President Donald Trump, who recently said that no more aid to Ukraine should be granted unless it's in the form of a loan.

Stocks To Watch: With $13.8 billion of the bill's budget going to Ukraine to purchase weapons and munitions from the U.S., the piece of legislation should be on the radar of investors looking at defense stocks like Lockheed Martin Corp LMT, Honeywell International Inc HON, General Dynamics Corp GD and Boeing Co BA.

Defense and aerospace ETFs are also liable to react should the bill pass the House. The largest ones are:

• iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF ITA.
• Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF PPA
• SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF XAR

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