WASHINGTON D.C. — Utah Senator Mike Lee's motion to postpone bringing the bill allocating funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan failed Sunday afternoon during a special senate session.
Senator Lee argued he and his republican colleagues had not been given time to offer amendments to the bill, a point he argued Saturday when he filibustered for nearly four hours on the Senate floor.
"What's really going on here is that we've got majority leader who has decided to obstruct an open and fair amendment process," said Lee. "Leader Schumer is dictating which amendments are allowed to be voted on and which are not."
The foreign aid bill was originally part of the bipartisan border security bill that was blocked Wednesday by the Senate after it failed to gain enough votes to begin debate. The vote on the foreign aid-only version of the bill was delayed until following Thursday to give Republican senators time to deliberate. After some closed-door deliberations, senators voted to advance the bill.
The topic of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine continues to top of mind, with a number of Republicans arguing the United States should prioritize addressing the issues of the nation's southern border ahead of sending any more foreign aid.
This also comes after comments from former president Donald Trump during a recent campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina. The Associated Press reports that Trump warned NATO allies that he "would encourage" Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to countries that did not meet defense spending targets.
The comments prompted a response from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who told AP that “any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security."
The comments at the rally prompted a response on the Senate floor shortly after Lee introduced his motion.
"It was just last night, we heard the presumptive Republican nominee for president openly encourage Russia to attack our NATO allies," said Senator Patty Murray from Washington. "All of us in this chamber.... understand those words have consequences."
Senator Murray went on to say that the passing of the spending bill would send the message that the U.S. would come to the defense of its NATO allies.
After a nearly-hour long vote, Lee's motion failed 53-40. At time of reporting, the bill is still actively being discussed on the Senate floor.
