Speaker Johnson faced a setback on Tuesday when he was unable to advance a standalone bill , H.R. 7217, providing $17.6 billion in aid for Israel. Opposition from both Republican and Democratic leaders thwarted the bill’s passage.
Facing resistance from members of the House Freedom Caucus, Speaker Mike Johnson resorted to a procedural maneuver requiring a two-thirds majority for approval, necessitating Democratic support.
“The decision by President Biden and Leader Schumer to torpedo this bill to aid the Israeli people in their fight against Hamas is a disappointing rebuke to our closest ally in the Middle East at their time of great need,” Johnson said on Tuesday.
“After nearly four months of waiting for the Senate to act, House Republicans, working in good faith, placed a clean, standalone bill on the floor — a major concession we were willing to make given the gravity of the situation, to address Democrats’ stated concerns with the prior aid package, ” he added.
“Democrats have been unable to present any substantive policy objection in the current legislation. It is clear they are now committed to using Israel aid as leverage to force through other priorities that do not enjoy nearly the same degree of consensus. Leveraging Israel aid as it fights for survival is wrong. The White House and Congressional Democrats should be ashamed.”
In a letter to colleagues earlier today, Leader Jeffries made it clear that the Democrats would be voting no on the standalone bill for Israel.
“The standalone legislation introduced by House Republicans over the weekend, at the eleventh hour without notice or consultation, is not being offered in good faith. Rather, it is a nakedly obvious and cynical attempt by MAGA extremists to undermine the possibility of a comprehensive, bipartisan funding package that addresses America’s national security challenges in the Middle East, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region and throughout the world,” said Jeffries.
Even if the bill had been successful, President Biden warned that he would veto it as he prioritizes his border and national security supplemental, a bill currently opposed by House Republicans.
The standoff on the border deal and national security supplemental persists.
