According to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the House will vote on a stand-alone bill next week to provide aid to Israel, without any offsetting spending cuts. Johnson announced this in a letter to colleagues, criticizing the impending Senate legislation that would combine Israel aid with funding for Ukraine and a package of tougher border security and asylum laws.
Johnson condemned the Senate for failing to move appropriate legislation in a timely fashion and stressed the House’s need to act in light of the pressing circumstances facing Israel. The bill is set to include $17.6 billion in military aid to Israel and funding for U.S. Forces in the region.
The unexpected move by Johnson signals a firm stance against an immigration compromise and Ukraine funding, indicating that House Republicans are ready to pass only the Israel aid portion of President Joe Biden’s national security supplemental request.
It remains to be seen whether the Senate will take up a stand-alone Israel aid bill, as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has expressed his intention to begin voting next week on the broader supplemental and immigration bill. The White House has previously indicated opposition to a stand-alone Israel aid bill, with the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, stating in November that “The president would veto an only-Israel bill.”
