Daily on Defense: Biden to sign aid bill, Schumer and McConnell align, Blinken to China, forced TikTok sale faces legal challenges
After six months of stubborn resistance from a small faction of Republicans in Congress, a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan cleared a final hurdle in the Senate on a resounding 79-18 vote late last night.promised to sign the bill into law first thing this morning, and the Pentagon said it expects to deliver crucial weapons and munitions to Ukraine “within days.”
“So much of the hesitation and shortsightedness that has delayed this moment is premised on sheer fiction. And I take no pleasure in rebutting misguided fantasies,” McConnell said in a rebuke of some members of his party. “I wish, sincerely, that recognizing the responsibilities of American leadership was the price of admission for serious conversations about the future of our national security.”
“We are in a different place than we were a year ago when the bilateral relationship was at a historic low point,” a senior State Department official. “We have set out to stabilize the bilateral relationship without sacrificing our capacity to strengthen our alliances, compete vigorously, and defend our interests.”
“The secretary will raise clearly and candidly our concerns on issues ranging from human rights, unfair economic and trade practices, to the global economic consequences of PRC industrial overcapacity,” the official briefed reporters, saying Blinken will also “focus on implementing the leaders’ commitments in San Francisco to advance cooperation on issues such as counternarcotics, bolster mil-mil communication, and establish talks on artificial intelligence risks and safety.
Included in the $95 billion foreign aid bill is a provision that would require TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the social media platform or face a ban. With Presidentpledging to sign the bill, the law will set up legal challenges given that China opposes the sale.
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