18 House Republicans Defy Trump and Mike Johnson, Pass Measure to Send More Money to Ukraine
The House approved sending aid to Ukraine on Thursday as 18 Republicans joined Democrats in the vote.
The bill, which passed 226-195, would provide $1.8 billion for Ukraine and increase sanctions against Russia, according to Politico.
The bill took a year to reach the floor after a discharge petition — a vehicle that allows a bill to come to the floor by making an end run of standard procedures — after it was filed by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had opposed the bill, could not prevent the vote once Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, an independent who caucuses with Republicans, signed on.
This was a complete waste of time. The House just passed H.R. 2913, the so called Ukraine Support Act.
Senate action is not expected. This bill is dead on arrival and President Trump would just veto it anyways. It has zero chance of becoming law.
It was pure symbolic theater. A… https://t.co/4rr6tL1zNj
— JJ🕊️ (@jesseyjay94) June 5, 2026
Kiley’s approval came after all House Democrats, as well as Republican Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, had signed the petition, according to CBS News.
Bacon said he hopes the vote will “shake up the Senate,” which must pass the bill for Thursday’s action to have any more than symbolic significance.
“I don’t know if they’ll pass this bill, but they’re going to now know that we could pass something,” he said.
“This is our Churchill moment or our Chamberlain moment, and by God I’m going to choose Churchill,” Bacon said ahead of the vote, according to Politico.
The vote was “not a reflection of Congress’ support for Ukraine,” Johnson said.
Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Republican from Colorado who backed the bill, said its “core objectives… were in America’s interests.”
“We need to stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression,” Hurd said. “Putin is a dictator. What they’re doing is wrong.”
I have always supported regular order. However, the members of the House of Representatives decided the Ukraine Support Act should come to the floor and be given a vote of conscience.
For the past four years, Russia has committed war crimes against the country of Ukraine — from…
— Michael McCaul (@RepMcCaul) June 4, 2026
Meeks said the vote “demonstrates the House stands on the right side of history,” according to NBC News.
“For the last 18 months, Russia has bombed, killed with impunity,” he said. “But we say no more.”
The White House said that even if the Senate passes the bill — which is highly uncertain — President Donald Trump will veto it, according to Fox News.
“The bill seeks to tie the President’s hands by mandating a wide-ranging U.S. response to the Russia-Ukraine war while adding hundreds of millions in unfunded authorizations,” the White House statement said.
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