In second break with Trump in a week, House passes bill to aid Ukraine

The House passed legislation Thursday that would aid Ukraine and sanction key segments of the Russian economy, overriding objections from Republican leaders who warned the bill would undermine negotiations designed to achieve a comparable but stronger result. The 226-195 vote is a sign of impatience with Donald Trump ’s approach to the war and represents the House’s second major foreign policy break with Trump this week. The day before, the House, for the first time, approved a war powers resolution aimed at halting US military action against Iran. The legislation, sponsored by the Democratic representative Gregory Meeks, seeks to cement US assistance for Ukraine by providing more than $1bn in security and reconstruction aid. It would make another $8bn available for Ukraine’s defense through loans. Supporters were able to force action on the Ukraine bill by gathering 218 signatures on a discharge petition, a legislative tool that allows a majority of the House to effectively bypass leadership. Once rarely successful, House members have used the petition tool this Congress to pass bills on releasing the government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein and to extend healthcare subsidies to many people who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, though the latter measure faltered in the Senate. Meeks said the question before the House was simple. …