House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) may have placed Democratic leadership, particularly House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), in a tough spot as Congress tries to get aid to Israel amid its war with Hamas.
As the Senate tries to pass a border security bill with aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, Johnson proposed a separate bill with only aid for Israel in the interim. As the Israel-Hamas war rages and time continues to pass since the last aid bill for Israel, the House GOP proposal may be the way forward.
Johnson introduced the bill, which, unlike previous legislation, does not try to offset spending with cuts in other parts of the government, on Saturday, only a day ahead of Senate negotiators issuing their comprehensive proposal. On Sunday, before the Senate bill was unveiled, Johnson said on NBC News’s Meet the Press that the reason he proposed a separate aid bill is he “cannot wait” for the upper chamber to act.
“The reason we are going to send the new Israel package over is because the time is urgent. And we have to take care of that responsibility,” Johnson said.
Jeffries, who oversees a caucus with deep division on the Israel-Hamas war, has been supportive of Israel but now faces a tough task on whether to support the bill or wait for the Senate bill.
In a dear colleague letter on Sunday, he said there was reason to believe the House GOP legislation was a “cynical attempt to undermine the Senate’s bipartisan effort” but did not rule out supporting the bill.
“Clearly, the most responsible legislative approach with respect to our national security needs is a comprehensive one. That said, I look forward to a robust discussion upon our return to Washington over the next few days about the best path forward with respect to the stand-alone Republican bill, America’s broad national security interests as well as support for our democratic allies in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and throughout the world,” Jeffries wrote in the letter on Sunday.
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House Democrats are expected to meet on Tuesday, and the House is expected to take a vote on the stand-alone Israel bill as soon as Tuesday.
The Senate bill has been met with sharp criticism from several sides, but the Senate GOP appears likely to tank the bill before it can even be considered in the House of Representatives. An initial vote on the border bill in the Senate is scheduled for Wednesday.
