Finally, the United States’ polity has found the resolve to pass a much-delayed aid package for Ukraine after wrangling over it for months, even as the situation for Ukraine has been going from bad to worse on the battlefield against Russia. This much-needed $61 billion package, which includes air defence systems, mid- to long-range missiles and artillery shells, along with more than $9 billion of economic assistance, got the approval of the US House of Representatives last week by 311 votes to 112. Though this support looks strong, it obscures a bitter divide within the Republican party. American President Joe Biden commended the bipartisan effort to “answer history’s call” and asked the Senate to approve it quickly, “so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs.” But the Republican opposition to the legislation is striking, as more Republicans voted by 112 to 101 against the bill than in its support. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson managed to push the bill, but now it is his survival as speaker that’s at stake with several members of his party calling for his ouster. Johnson argued that a failure to secure the aid lifeline to Ukraine would bolster the emerging de facto axis of totalitarianism between Russia, Iran and China. But in so doing, he challenged the dominant strain of foreign policy thinking in today’s Republican Party that doesn’t view support for Ukraine as a vital national interest of the United States.
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