US House members defy leadership, to force vote on Ukraine aid

Source: Yahoo! News/Reuters

Wed, May 13, 2026 at 6:12 PM EDT


WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives petition to force a floor vote on providing security aid to Ukraine and imposing new sanctions on Russia reached the 218-signature threshold to move ahead on Wednesday, the ‌latest successful bid by lawmakers to defy the chamber's Republican leadership. California Representative Kevin Kiley, who switched his party affiliation to ‌independent from Republican in March, signed the "discharge petition" on Wednesday, giving it enough signatures to force a vote in the House, likely in early June.

While many members of Congress ​from both parties have strongly supported Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, some of President Donald Trump's closest Republican allies - including House and Senate leadership - have grown cooler since he returned to the White House in January 2025.

U.S. aid to the Kyiv government has slowed sharply even as Russia and Ukraine have been pummelling each other with missiles, drones and artillery, with no end to the war in sight. ‌Peace talks are stalled, with Ukraine rejecting Putin's ⁠demand that it surrender territory it has successfully defended since 2022.

A discharge petition allows 218 or more representatives to force House votes, even if the legislation is opposed by Republican Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who ⁠sets the agenda in the chamber.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-house-members-defy-leadership-173118391.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall