Eighteen Republicans sided with Democrats, just a day after the House also passed a measure aiming to end the Iran war.Show Caption
The House of Representatives again overrode Republican leaders to pass a bill that would authorize billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia.The Ukraine Support Act passed on Thursday, June 4, after 18 Republicans sided with Democrats. The vote was 226-195.Though the bill has little chance at becoming law, it was yet another rebuke by congressional Republicans of President Donald Trump's foreign policy approach. A day earlier, the House took a largely symbolic vote in support of ending the war in Iran (and the Senate recently advanced a similar measure).Subscribe to On Politics: Stay ahead of the midterms with our daily politics newsletter.The repeated congressional rebukes of the White House's strategy abroad have slowly become a political liability for Republicans – in a midterm election year that will influence the rest of Trump's second term.The Ukraine Support Act, sponsored by New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, came to the House floor only because GOP lawmakers crossed the aisle to help Democrats use a once-rare legislative trick to force a vote on the measure. The mechanism, known as a "discharge petition" and historically seldom used, is becoming increasingly common in the 119th Congress, which has just a razor-thin GOP majority.Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
