House approves new Ukraine aid as Republicans defect

Politics House approves new Ukraine aid as Republicans defect By Caitlin Yilek Caitlin Yilek Politics Reporter Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation. Read Full Bio Caitlin Yilek June 4, 2026 / 8:12 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — The House approved an effort on Thursday to send fresh assistance to Ukraine after a few Republican members joined with Democrats to force a vote on the issue. The procedural tactic, known as a discharge petition, was launched by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York nearly a year ago. A discharge petition allows a majority of House members to bring a bill to the floor.It had amassed most of the signatures it needed to force a floor vote months ago, but was one name short until May 13 when Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, an independent who caucuses with Republicans, was the decisive 218th signature. Every Democrat and two Republicans — Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — also signed the petition. In a key vote Wednesday to discharge the measure from the House Rules Committee, half a dozen Republicans voted with Democrats to propel it toward a final passage vote. The underlying legislation, also introduced by Meeks, who is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, passed in a 226 to 195 vote. More than a dozen Republicans supported it. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who signed the petition, voted against it. The legislation would authorize up to $8 billion in military loans for Ukraine. It also includes assistance for post-war reconstruction in Ukraine and new sanctions targeting Russia while reaffirming the importance of NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded for more support from the U.S....