US House set to vote on aid packages for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan

The US House of Representatives has been poised to hold a crucial vote on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — and a possible ban of TikTok.

The votes on the $95 billion foreign aid and arms bills are expected to begin at 1:00pm (1700 GMT) on Saturday, and embattled Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will need Democratic votes to get them passed.

The bills are the product of months of acrimonious negotiations, pressure from US allies and repeated pleas for assistance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The United States has been the chief military backer of Ukraine in its war against Russia, but Congress has not approved large-scale funding for its ally for nearly a year and a half, mainly because of the bickering across the political aisle.

President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers in Congress have been pushing for a major new weapons package for Ukraine for months.

But Republicans, influenced by the party's presidential candidate Donald Trump, are reluctant to provide funding to Kiev for the drawn-out conflict.

The financing of the war has become a point of contention ahead of a presidential election in November that is expected to pit Biden against Trump once again.

Johnson, after months of hesitation, finally threw his support behind a $61 billion package for Ukraine that includes economic assistance and weapons.

"To put it bluntly, I'd rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys," Johnson said.

The bill also allows Biden to confiscate and sell Russian assets and provide the money to Ukraine, a move that has been embraced by other G7 nations.

'World is watching'

A total of $13 billion in military assistance has been allocated for America's ally Israel in its war on the besieged Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 34,000 over the last 6 months.

More than $9 billion will be earmarked to address "the dire need for humanitarian assistance for Gaza as well as other vulnerable populations around the world," the legislation says.

At the request of Biden, some $8 billion would be used to counter China through investment in submarine infrastructure and boosting competition with Beijing on projects built in developing countries.

Several billion dollars would be devoted to weapons for Taiwan, the self-ruled island that is claimed by China.

There is also a provision that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a nationwide ban in the United States, where it has around 170 million users.

Western officials have voiced alarm over the popularity of TikTok with young people, alleging that it is subservient to Beijing and a conduit to spread propaganda — claims denied by the company.

In a statement on Friday, the White House said it "strongly supports" the legislation.

"The world is watching what the Congress does," it said, adding that Biden would sign the bills as soon as they were passed by both chambers of Congress.