U.S. Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, speaks to members of the Greenwood Rotary Club on Monday, April 15, 2024, at Central Nine Career Center in Greenwood, Indiana. (Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal)
WASHINGTON — Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., was part of a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who voted to help push ahead a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and humanitarian support.
In a 316-94 vote Friday, the House voted to pass a resolution that is expected to set up a final vote on the aid package this weekend, The Associated Press reported.
Friday’s vote produced a seldom-seen outcome in the typically hyper-partisan House, with Democrats helping Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan advance, according to wire reports.
A total of 55 House Republicans voted against the resolution, while another 12 did not vote, congressional records show.
Three House Republicans representing Indiana voted against the resolution, including Reps. Jim Baird, Jim Banks and Victoria Spartz, who is originally from Ukraine. Rep. André Carson, D-Ind., also voted against the resolution.
Friday’s vote was a victory for the strategy Johnson set in motion this week after he agonized for two months over the legislation, according to wire reports. Still, Johnson has had to spend the past 24 hours making the rounds on conservative media working to salvage support for the wartime funding, particularly for Ukraine as it faces a critical moment battling Russia, but also for his own job as the effort to remove him as speaker grew.
“Ukrainians desperately need lethal aid right now. … We cannot allow Vladimir Putin to roll through another country and take it,” Johnson told the conservative host of The Mark Levin Show about the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine. “These are very serious matters with global implications.”
Johnson said after the vote that while it wasn’t “perfect legislation,” it was the “best possible product” Republicans can get given their thin majority in one chamber of Congress.
After months of delay, the House worked slowly but deliberately once Johnson made up his mind this week to plow ahead with a package that matches, with a few alterations, what the Senate passed in February, according to wire reports.
President Joe Biden sent a swift endorsement of the speaker’s plan and, in a rare moment, Donald Trump, the Republican presumed presidential nominee who opposes most overseas aid for Ukraine, has not derailed the speaker’s work.
By Andy East of The (Columbus) Republic, a sister newspaper of the Daily Journal.
CORRECTION: 12:30 p.m. April 20
A previous version of this story did not include the correct monetary amount for the aid package. It is $95 billion, not $95.
