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The House took a critical step on Friday toward approving a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, as Democrats supplied the crucial votes to push the legislation past Republican opposition so that it could be considered on the floor.
The 316-to-94 vote cleared the way for the House to bring up the aid package, teeing up separate votes on Saturday on each of its parts. But passage of those measures, each attracting bipartisan support from different coalitions, was not in doubt, making Friday's action the key indicator that the legislation is all but certain to prevail.
Should that happen in votes set for Saturday afternoon, the Senate was expected to quickly pass the measure, and President Biden has said he would sign it into law.
On Friday, the rule for considering the bill — historically a straight party-line vote — passed with more Democratic than Republican support, but it also won a majority of G.O.P. votes, making it clear that despite a pocket of deep resistance from the far right, there is broad bipartisan backing for the $95.3 billion package.
The vote was an enormous victory in the long effort to fund Ukraine as it battles Russian aggression, a major priority of President Biden. It was a triumph against the forces of isolationism within the G.O.P. and a major moment of consensus in a Congress that for the past year has been mostly defined by its dysfunction.
But it came only after Speaker Mike Johnson put his job on the line by turning to Democrats in a significant breach of custom in the House, further imperiling his position even as he paved the way for the legislation to be voted on and approved.
On the House floor, Democrats held back their votes until it was clear there was not enough Republican support for the measure to pass without their backing, and then their "yes" votes began pouring in. Ultimately, 165 Democrats voted for the measure, more than the 151 Republicans who supported it.
"Democrats, once again, will be the adults in the room, and I'm so glad Republicans finally realize the gravity of the situation and the urgency with which we must act," said Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee. "But you don't get an award around here for doing your damn job."
Mr. McGovern blamed a "MAGA minority that doesn't want to compromise" for the long delay on approving aid to Ukraine. But he said that Democrats were providing the votes because "so much more is at stake here than petty partisanship."
It was the second time during this Congress that Republicans have had to rely on Democratic votes in the House to even bring to the floor legislation to address a critical issue. They did so last year to allow for a vote to suspend the debt ceiling bill and avoid a catastrophic federal default. On that vote, 29 Republicans voted to oppose the rule. On Friday, 55 Republicans voted against their own speaker's agenda.
After the vote, Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona became the third Republican to say he would support a bid to oust Mr. Johnson from his post. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, has already filed a resolution calling for Mr. Johnson's removal but has not yet sought a vote on it.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said Mr. Johnson had not directly asked him for Democratic votes to pass the rule on Friday, but it was obvious that the measure was going to require substantial backing from his ranks to pass. He added that a majority of Democrats would also support the elements of the aid package on Saturday.