The House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an amendment from Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) that would have barred Pentagon funding from going toward Ukraine security assistance other than funding for the security of the U.S. embassy in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)\u00a0amendment<\/a>\u00a0was defeated Tuesday night in a 76-350 vote, with all of the votes in favor coming from Republican lawmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking member of the panel, spoke out against the amendment earlier on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Crane, a former Navy SEAL, has been a critic of U.S. aid to Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n The second-term Republican, who represents Arizona\u2019s 2nd Congressional District, penned a letter along with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in April 2023 urging then-President Biden to end U.S. support for the Eastern European country fighting back against Russia\u2019s invasion.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUnrestrained U.S. aid for Ukraine must come to an end, and we will adamantly oppose all future aid packages unless they are linked to a clear diplomatic strategy designed to bring this war to a rapid conclusion,\u201d the lawmakers wrote in the\u00a0letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Congress has appropriated around $195 billion in spending regarding the Russia-Ukraine war as of late March this year, according to the State Department\u2019s Special Inspector General for \u201cOperation Atlantic Resolve.\u201d The last major piece of Ukraine aid legislation was passed in April 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n Treasury Department transferred a $20 billion loan for Ukraine to a World Bank intermediary fund in late 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n