Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is learning the ropes as a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
After months of stalling, the House of Representatives agreed in four separate votes to approve $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan on Saturday, as House Speaker Mike Johnson puts his job on the line to advance critical aid to America’s allies. The bills will now head to the Senate and are expected to pass on Tuesday.
The legislation includes $61 billion for Kyiv; $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region. It also mandates that $10 billion of Ukraine’s aid be a loan, a concept supported by former President Donald Trump and critical to keeping many Republicans on board.
But the far-right faction of the GOP, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, is still threatening to oust Johnson over his decision to call for a vote.
The House also passed a potential TikTok ban during its round of voting today, putting pressure on the Senate to approve the legislation when it votes on the foreign aid bills on Tuesday. If it passes the Senate, TikTok would be forced to divest from Chinese-owned ByteDance within the year or face a nationwide ban.
