Closing summary
The Senate has taken the key step of invoking cloture on the $95b bill that will send military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and could set the stage for social media app TikTok’s ban nationwide. Lawmakers are now debating the legislation, with final passage expected later today or perhaps tomorrow. The chamber earlier in the day rejected an attempt to make amendments to the bill, which already passed the House, thwarting independent Bernie Sanders’s plans to tweak the text to stop weapons shipments to Israel in what he called “a dark day for democracy”. Meanwhile, GOP senators called on the Biden administration to step in to break up pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses, including New York University and Yale University.
Here’s what else happened today:
Joe Biden assailed Donald Trump’s hand in overturning Roe v Wade in a speech in Florida, and mocked his Bible sales.
The US plans to ship $1b in weapons to Ukraine that can be quickly deployed on the battlefield once the foreign aid bill passes.
Trump’s trial on charges of falsifying business records is continuing in New York City, with testimony from former Nation Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
Republican House speaker Mike Johnson took a risk by allowing the chamber to pass the bill funding Ukraine’s defense, but Trump praised him nonetheless.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s Democratic leader, thanked Johnson for allowing the House to vote on and pass the foreign aid bill, despite his previous hesitancy towards arming Ukraine.
Back in the Senate, lawmakers continue to debate the foreign aid bill for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which appears headed for passage later today.
The speeches will probably go on for a few hours. Shortly after the chamber overwhelmingly took the key legislative step of invoking cloture on the bill, CNN reports Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell, an ardent supporter of Ukraine, laid into conservative commentator Tucker Carlson for his support of Vladimir Putin, and the damage it has caused:
Mitch McConnell, a staunch backer of Ukraine aid, says the anti-Ukraine movement began with Tucker Carlson, “who, in my opinion, ended up where he should have been all along, which is interviewing Vladimir Putin.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 23, 2024
The Senate just voted 80-19 to break a filibuster on $95B aid… pic.twitter.com/Gz4aKSxG6L
Carlson traveled to Russia in February for an interview with Putin, which did not appear to go the way the conservative commentator hoped:
