Here Are the Republicans Breaking With Their Party to Back Ukraine Aid

Seventeen Senate Republicans have bucked a majority of their party and former President Donald J. Trump in joining Democrats to push military assistance for Ukraine toward approval in the Senate, highlighting a widening foreign policy divide in the contemporary Republican Party.

The 17 senators, mainly national security hawks who include several military veterans, have provided the votes necessary to overcome multiple filibusters backed by a majority of their colleagues, clearing the way for approval within days of $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Pacific region.

“The thread that binds that group together is national security,” said Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican who is one of the 17. “America’s national security, the belief that what happens in Ukraine matters to the United States, the belief that what happens in Israel matters and the belief that what happens in the South Pacific matters.”

Backing the funding could draw condemnation from Mr. Trump and his allies, a possibility that was most likely a factor in the decision of some to oppose it.

Some Republicans who have balked at the bill have suggested that they could ultimately back the legislation on final passage after trying to use their opposition to win the chance to change it — an effort that has so far not proved successful. But whether more than half of the 49 Republicans will vote for it remains an open question.

Here’s a closer look at the defectors so far, and what is motivating them.