Russia and Putin · 2024 campaign · № 78

On Russia

Told the Senate no more foreign aid 'unless it is done as a loan' on the eve of the Ukraine aid vote

“FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, ARE YOU LISTENING U.S. SENATE(?), NO MONEY IN THE FORM OF FOREIGN AID SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ANY COUNTRY UNLESS IT IS DONE AS A LOAN, NOT JUST A GIVEAWAY.”
Said
, Truth Social post
Subject
Aid 'as a loan'
Type
Ukraine
Topic
Ukraine & Russia
Era
2024 campaign

What happened

The day before the Senate began voting on a $95.3 billion foreign aid package with about $60 billion for Ukraine, Trump posted that foreign aid should only be given as a loan, 'contingent' on the recipient never turning against the United States. The Senate passed the bill 70-29 on February 13, 2024, over what Defense News described as 'Trump-fueled opposition'; Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would 'work its own will' and did not take it up for more than two months. On April 20 the House passed a version that designated about $10 billion of the Ukraine funding as a repayable loan 'to appease some Republican members,' as The Guardian put it; PBS reported that more than $9 billion of Ukraine's economic assistance took the form of 'forgivable loans.' Biden signed the package on April 24, 2024, 'overcoming months of opposition by Republicans in Congress,' according to NPR.

Sources

  1. Donald J. Trump Truth Social post, February 10, 2024, 1:44 PM Trump's Truth (Truth Social archive), Feb 10, 2024
  2. Trump says US should no longer provide foreign aid unless it's structured as a loan CNN, Feb 10, 2024
  3. Senate passes Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid amid Trump-fueled opposition Defense News, Feb 13, 2024
  4. A breakdown of what's in the $95 billion foreign aid package passed by the House PBS NewsHour (AP), Apr 21, 2024
  5. US House approves $61bn in military aid for Ukraine after months of stalling The Guardian, Apr 20, 2024
  6. Biden signs $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan NPR, Apr 24, 2024