Two months ago, a majority of Republicans opposed the $95 billion foreign aid bill when it came to the Senate floor for a vote. Ten of those senators flipped Tuesday.
The measure passed by an overwhelming 79-18 margin, sending the bill to President Joe Biden for his signature.
It wasn’t long ago that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., found himself among the minority of Republican senators who supported the foreign aid bill. In February, there were 22 GOP senators in favor and 26 opposed, while one Republican senator didn’t vote.
It was a different story Tuesday. This time, 31 Republicans supported the bill, 15 Republicans opposed it, and three didn’t vote.
>>> How Much Are You Paying for Ukraine Aid? Economist Crunches the Numbers
The 10 Republicans who flip-flopped were Sens. Katie Britt, Tom Cotton, Steve Daines, Deb Fischer, Lindsey Graham, Cindy Hyde-Smith, James Lankford, Markwayne Mullin, Pete Ricketts, and Tim Scott. (Scott did not cast a vote for final passage, but supported a cloture motion earlier Tuesday and indicated his support in a statement.)
The GOP senators most frequently mentioned as McConnell’s successor as party leader—Sens. John Cornyn and John Thune—voted for the measure. Sen. John Barrasso, who is running for GOP whip, voted against it.
Below is the roll call of how each Republican senator voted. The complete list of senators, including Democrats, is available here.
YEAs (31)
John Boozman, R-Ark.
Katie Britt, R-Ala.
Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
Bill Cassidy, R-La.
Susan Collins, R-Maine
John Cornyn, R-Texas
Tom Cotton, R-Ark.
Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho
Steve Daines, R-Mont.
Joni Ernst, R-Iowa
Deb Fischer, R-Neb.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa
John Hoeven, R-N.D.
Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.
John Kennedy, R-La.
James Lankford, R-Okla.
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.
Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
James Risch, R-Idaho
Mitt Romney, R-Utah
Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska
John Thune, R-S.D.
Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Todd Young, R-Ind.
NAYs (15)
John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Mike Braun, R-Ind.
Ted Budd, R-N.C.
Ted Cruz, R-Texas
Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.
Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
Mike Lee, R-Utah
Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.
Roger Marshall, R-Kan.
Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
Rick Scott, R-Fla.
JD Vance, R-Ohio
Not Voting (3)
Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Tim Scott, R-S.C.
Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
Prior to the vote, Heritage Action for America announced it would score against the bill, noting that it “recklessly spends Americans tax dollars without a strategy, plan, or end goal.” (Heritage Action is the grassroots arm of The Heritage Foundation, which founded The Daily Signal in 2014.)
“The House-passed bill violates commonsense foreign aid principles that conservatives have supported for months,” Heritage Action Executive Vice President Ryan Walker said. “The legislation exploits the attacks on Israel to send $60 billion more to Ukraine without accountability or strategy—forcing Americans to take on even more debt to finance another country’s war. Conservatives will not relent in our opposition to this irresponsible legislation that puts Americans last.”
Several of the senators who voted against the February bill cited the lack of border security as a reason for their opposition, although its lack of inclusion in the latest iteration didn’t appear to be as much of a factor. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opted not to include a separate bill addressing the border crisis as part of the foreign aid legislation.
Graham was among those who opposed the February bill. He explained his change of thinking during a floor speech Tuesday.
“I voted no [on the Senate bill earlier this year because] the border security provisions [were] sort of inadequate to the task on parole and a few other things,” Graham said. “My hope was … we could negotiate a stronger border security package [with the House]. That did not happen.”
