Senate votes in favor of adding Finland and Sweden to NATO amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The Senate voted on Wednesday to approve NATO membership for Sweden and Finland, a rebuke of Russia's actions in Ukraine. The resolution to add both countries to the alliance passed in a vote of 95-1.

There was only one "no" vote. The senator from Kentucky voted present.

"Today, at a time when democracy in Europe is under attack, the US Senate is voting in overwhelming bipartisan fashion to approve the accession of two Nordic countries to the NATO alliance," Schumer said before the vote.

The war in Ukraine has been used to divide the West. Today's vote shows our alliance is stronger than ever, Schumer said.

The two Nordic countries joined NATO because of Russia's military offensive in Ukraine.

Prior to ordering Russia's so-called "special operation" in Ukraine, Russian President Putin railed against NATO and blamed the alliance for his aggression towards the former Soviet republic. Adding Georgia and Ukraine to NATO would pose a threat to Russia's security, according to Putin.

Putin achieved the opposite of what he intended when he launched a full-scale invasion. Two major European countries with strong economies and militaries are close to joining NATO. The border with Russia is 830 miles long.

They were invited to join NATO in the summer. The legislatures of NATO members are required to vote on whether to join the alliance.

Schumer praised the gun safety bill, the CHIPS Act, and the PACT Act, which expand healthcare to veterans who were exposed to toxic burn, before the vote.

The vote would be a "slam dunk for national security" according to McConnell.

"If any senator is looking for a reason to vote no, I wish them good luck," he said, in an apparent reference to Hawley, who on Monday revealed he opposed the addition of Sweden and Finland to NATO.

"America's greatest foreign adversary doesn't loom over Europe, that's why I'm voting no," he said. There is a loom in Asia. I'm talking about the people's republic of china.

"Expanding American security commitments in Europe would only make that problem worse - and America, less safe," he said.

The two nations' accession to NATO was supported by the House of Representatives last month.