A bipartisan group of 90 members of Congress has called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to bring up the Senate-passed bill that would give $95 billion in assistance to Ukraine and Israel, the latter of which was attacked by Iran over the weekend.
“This weekend, the Iranian regime launched hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles directly against our key, democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel,” they wrote. “Time is of the essence, and we must ensure critical aid is delivered to Israel and our other democratic allies facing threats from our adversaries around the world.”
The members called for an April 15 vote on the bipartisan measure.
“We urge you to put the Senate Supplemental Aid package on the floor for an immediate vote when we return on Monday,” they wrote. “This aid package passed the Senate with 70 votes, Democrats and Republicans, and we can send it to the President’s desk for signature Monday night.”
Mr. Johnson’s office did not respond by press time to a request for comment on the letter.
It is unknown if Mr. Johnson will put forth the Senate bill, which would give $14 billion to Israel. The House passed a bill with that amount allocated for the Jewish state, but it consisted of $14 billion in offsets of the funding for the Internal Revenue Service that was allocated under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Iran’s attack on Israel consisted of more than 120 ballistic missiles and more than 30 cruise missiles launched at the Jewish state, according to the Israel Defense Forces. This week, the House is scheduled to vote on legislation related to the Iranian threat.
As to what exactly Mr. Johnson will do about assistance to Israel in the wake of the attack is to be determined.
During an appearance on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” the speaker was asked if the attack—which Iran said was in retaliation for an Israeli operation that killed Iranian army leaders at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters in Syria—would change the House’s plans for funding Israel.
“We’ve understood the urgency of this from the very beginning,” Mr. Johnson said.
That bill has languished in the Senate, where it hasn’t been brought up for a vote by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has objected to the bill.
Later, Mr. Johnson noted that the House rejected a “clean” funding bill for Israel with a top-line cost of $14 billion. A majority of Democrats opposed the bill after President Joe Biden said he would veto it. It was brought under an expedited process that required a two-thirds majority for passage.
Nonetheless, Mr. Johnson said he planned to make another foray into funding Israel in the wake of Iran’s April 13 attack.
“House Republicans and the Republican Party understand the necessity of standing with Israel,” he said. “We’re going to try again this week. And the details of that package are being put together right now. We’re looking at the options and all these supplemental issues.”
Mr. Johnson was asked about the possibility of providing additional funding to Ukraine in the form of a loan, an idea originally floated by former President Donald Trump and picked up by many in the House Republican conference.
“[President Trump] and I are 100 percent united on these big agenda items,” Mr. Johnson replied.
“When you talk about aid to Ukraine, he’s introduced the loan-lease concept, which is a really important one [that] I think has a lot of consensus as well as these other ideas, the REPO Act, which we’ve discussed, which is seizing the assets of corrupt Russian oligarchs to help pay for this resistance,” he said. “I think these are ideas that ... can get consensus, and that’s what we’ve been working through.
Uncertainties
There are many uncertainties in the path that Mr. Johnson plans to pursue.It’s currently unknown what level of support an aid bill will include, as is whether it will wrap in Ukraine as a single package.
That could cause issues for Mr. Johnson, as he leads a caucus that, while staunchly supportive of Israel, is nearly evenly divided on funding for Ukraine.
All of this comes as Mr. Johnson continues to deal with the threat of a motion to vacate—issued by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)—hanging over his head.
It’s unclear whether Mr. Johnson will seek to pass new aid for Israel under normal House rules. That path would likely mean that he could spare only a single vote—far from a certainty as members such as Ms. Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) have in the past expressed opposition to all foreign aid.
Alternatively, Mr. Johnson could seek passage of the new funding under a suspension of the rules, a move that would require a two-thirds majority vote and the support of Democrats to pass.
Democrats blocked the previous Israel funding bill after President Biden signaled his opposition, so it’s also unclear whether this approach would work.
