Eighteen Republicans voted with Democrats Thursday to send more aid to Ukraine and provide weapons from Pentagon stockpiles despite House leadership urging them to vote against it.
The legislation passed in a 226 to 195 vote, which would allocate $8 billion in direct loans to Ukraine and allow the U.S. to send Ukraine weapons from Pentagon stockpiles. Republicans who voted for the legislation included Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Glenn Thompson of Ohio, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Carlos Gimenez of Florida.
The legislation would extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) through 2027, which permits the U.S. to send weapons from Pentagon stockpiles directly to Ukraine. It would also expand restrictions on financial institutions that conduct business with Russian officials and state enterprises, as well as crack down on entities that help Russia evade existing sanctions.
The U.S. has allocated approximately $188 billion in funding and emergency support for Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.
The legislation came to the floor via Democratic New York Rep. Gregory Meeks’ discharge petition, which crossed the 218-vote threshold and forced a vote on the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson urged his colleagues to vote against the discharge petition during a closed-door House Republican conference meeting Wednesday, a source familiar with the meeting told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
President Donald Trump, Johnson and other Republicans have repeatedly called for the war in Ukraine to end. Trump framed U.S. support for Ukraine as a waste of money and has repeatedly called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, and signaled that he did not want Congress interfering in his negotiation attempts with Putin.
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie argued the legislation “benefits no American.” He lost his primary race to Republican Kentucky congressional candidate Ed Gallrein, who received Trump’s endorsement.
“I just voted against the Ukraine Support Act tonight. It sends over $9 billion of your dollars overseas, and includes $250 million for Radio Free Europe, a Cold War relic that benefits no American,” Massie said.
I just voted against the Ukraine Support Act tonight. It sends over $9 billion of your dollars overseas, and includes $250 million for Radio Free Europe, a Cold War relic that benefits no American.https://t.co/BVmVFajN9I pic.twitter.com/6RS6r8v5UJ
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 5, 2026
Meeks introduced the legislation in April 2025, though it remained stalled for over a year since Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee refused to take it up. He then filed the discharge petition in July 2025, and spent almost a year collecting signatures.
Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Lawler of New York, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Michael McCaul of Texas, Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Max Miller of Ohio voted for the discharge petition in a Wednesday vote.
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