WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives voted, on June 4, for a bill making available $8 billion in loans for Ukraine and NATO allies to purchase new weapons and military equipment, and directing a range of sanctions on Russia.
Lawmakers voted 226–195 to pass the Democrat-led bill, dubbed the Ukraine Support Act.
The bill’s House passage represents a breakthrough for the first major bill directing Ukraine-related aid during President Donald Trump’s second term in office. House Republican leadership has opposed the effort, instead calling for further coordination with the White House on matters relating to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) first introduced the legislation in April 2025, but the House’s Republican leadership took no steps to advance the bill to a floor vote. Meeks subsequently filed a discharge petition, which allows lawmakers to bypass House leadership and advance legislation by gathering signatures from a simple majority of House members.
By May of this year, Meeks had gathered the 218 signatures needed to advance.
“70% of America supports Ukraine. This Republican does too. It’s time the House do the People’s business and support freedom against an invading dictator,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who supported the efforts to advance the Ukraine aid bill, wrote in an X post following the procedural vote on June 3.
Even with its passage in the House, the petition would still have to pass a Senate vote for it to have a chance of becoming law. Trump could also issue a veto of the legislation.
On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump said he could quickly negotiate an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Trump has overseen some efforts to advance negotiations since returning to office last year, but there has been no diplomatic breakthrough and fighting has continued.
Since 2022, Congress has approved some $195 billion for Ukraine-related funding.
Speaking with reporters ahead of the final vote on June 4, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Congress is already negotiating with the White House on a sanctions framework. Scalise said the Democrat-led measure risks undermining those negotiations with the president.
“There was a very flawed piece of legislation, and it ignores really constructive bipartisan negotiations going on right now to put tougher sanctions on Russia,” Scalise said.
In addition to authorizing $8 billion worth of loans for military equipment purchases by Ukraine and other NATO nations, the Ukraine Support Act entails an expansive new sanctions framework.
The bill names 13 Russian financial institutions and sets a deadline for the president to impose financial sanctions on at least three such institutions. The sanctions framework also targets Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear energy corporation and Russia’s mineral extraction industry.
Further sanctions target individuals involved in constructing tunnels or bridges between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, foreign vessel operators who knowingly transport Russian oil, individuals who facilitate military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and individuals deemed responsible for undermining Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station.