Biden to sign $40B measure
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada’s entire congressional delegation voted in favor of sending $40 billion to Ukraine, but several Republican candidates seeking to unseat them said they would have voted against it.
All Democrats and most Republicans rallied behind the latest, and possibly not last, U.S. financial boost to the country. The approval comes three weeks after President Joe Biden requested a smaller $33 billion version.
Though the margins in both chambers were overwhelming, many of the “no” votes in the House and Senate came from supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Nevada’s two Democratic senates – Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Sen. Jacky Rosen, and the entire congressional delegation, including Rep. Mark Amodei, voted for the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before Thursday’s vote that it was “beyond troubling” that some Republicans were adopting Trump’s “soft-on-Putin playbook.”
“Among other things, the bill provides appropriations for defense equipment, migration and refugee assistance, regulatory and technical support regarding nuclear power issues, emergency food assistance, economic assistance, and seizures of property related to the invasion,” a summary of the bill provided by Congress said.
Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the front runner in the Republican race to become the nominee to run against Cortez Masto, said she should have voted against it.
“President Trump and the GOP held Russia accountable through sanctions and diplomatic pressure and as a result, Russia did not invade Ukraine for the four years of his presidency,” Laxalt said in a statement to 8 News Now. “The weakness shown by the Biden administration invited Russia’s aggression. I have consistently supported sanctions against Russia and aid for Ukraine, but a massive additional $40 billion in spending is not the only way to halt Russian aggression, especially when it comes at the expense of our families back home.”
Republican Assem. Annie Black, who is running for the Republican nomination in the race against Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford tweeted: “Remember this when you vote.”
The $40 billion funding plan passed the House 358-57 last week. The vote in the Senate on Thursday was 86-11.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.