US lawmakers approved a sweeping annual spending package Friday that includes $45 billion in Ukraine aid and reforms to election law aimed at avoiding a repeat of last year's assault on the Capitol.
The $1.7 trillion blueprint passed by senators on Thursday was rubber-stamped by the House of Representatives just hours ahead of a midnight deadline to keep the federal government open -- although a damaging holiday season shutdown was never a serious threat.
"This bill is further proof that Republicans and Democrats can come together to deliver for the American people, and I'm looking forward to continued bipartisan progress in the year ahead," President Joe Biden said in a statement welcoming the vote.
Failure to get the package to Biden's desk would have been an embarrassment, days after his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House to argue for the $44.9 billion emergency military and economic aid proposed as part of the legislation.
But it ultimately enjoyed a smooth passage through the lower chamber, where Democrats have a slim majority for a few more days, until the Republican-led 118th Congress opens for business.
Nine Republicans crossed the aisle to help the package cross the line by 225 votes to 201, while one Democrat -- New York progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- voted no.
"In this legislation, we proudly deliver another consequential round of security, economic and humanitarian aid," departing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in what is almost certainly her last speech as the nation's top lawmaker.
"And it really is not -- as the president of Ukraine said the other night -- about charity. It's about security, it's about working together."
The giant bill keeps the lights on until next October, paying for almost every aspect of the day-to-day management of the federal government, from law enforcement to printing money.
But it also features add-ons less obviously connected to funding, such as a reform tightening a 19th century law to make clear that vice presidents do not have the power to overturn elections.
'Season of giving'
Defeated president Donald Trump exploited the loose wording of the text to argue that his deputy Mike Pence could halt the transfer of power after the 2020 election, amid bogus claims of voter fraud.
Pence rebuffed Trump's entreaties and the billionaire Republican's vilification of his vice president was the cornerstone of his speech that allegedly incited a mob to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump, who has launched a run to regain the White House despite being the focus of several criminal and civil investigations, released a statement Thursday describing the package as a "monstrosity... crammed with left-wing disasters."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had also urged his party to vote no, arguing that his side would have more sway in negotiating the size and scope of federal spending when they wrest the lower chamber from the Democrats in early January.
The House was half empty Friday, with more than 200 representatives using an absentee voting provision, strictly meant only for those with Covid-19, to stay home and cast their ballots by proxy.
Republicans there in person lined up to bemoan the lack of time they had been given to study the bill -- it was finalized just three days ago -- and the "woke" previsions it contained, such as funding for LGBTQ projects.
There were rumors circulating among congressional staffers and media that McCarthy would use his so-called "magic minute" privilege to spend hours lambasting the bill.
McCarthy held up a budget vote in November of last year with a rambling address lasting a record eight-and-a-half hours.
But he took pity Friday on colleagues trying to get home amid a massive winter storm, reining in his criticism of the legislation to just 25 minutes.
"We are two days away from Christmas," he said.
"The Christmas season is the season of giving, but in Congress it appears the season of giving will line the pockets of Democrats' special interests and stick the hard-working Americans with the tab."
(Source: AFP)
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
