House Freedom Caucus Warns Johnson Against Attaching Ukraine to Israel Funding

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, speaks alongside fellow members during a press conference on the government spending bill, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 22, 2024. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus are warning House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) not to use the ongoing crisis in Israel as an excuse to push additional Ukraine funding through the lower chamber.

In an April 15 statement, the House Freedom Caucus said that, while it “stands unequivocally with Israel,” attempting to use the crisis prompted by Iran’s unprecedented attack this weekend to pass Ukraine funding would be a “bogus justification.”

“Congress should provide aid to Israel—and the House has already done so nearly five months ago and paid for it,” the House Freedom Caucus wrote, calling on the Senate to take up the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which was passed by the House in October 2023.

That bill would provide $14 billion for Israel, paid for by stripping funds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), attempting to take a chunk out of the IRS’s $60 billion windfall in the earlier Inflation Reduction Act.

That legislation was tabled by Senate Democrats in a party-line 51–49 vote.

“Under no circumstances will the House Freedom Caucus abide using the emergency situation in Israel as a bogus justification to ram through Ukraine aid with no offset and no security for our own wide-open borders,” the House Freedom Caucus said in their statement.

The warning 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—a threat that makes navigating the issue of foreign aid especially tricky for the speaker.

Former President Donald Trump threw his support behind Mr. Johnson last week amid the threats, saying, “I stand with the Speaker.” He said that Mr. Johnson is “doing a very good job”—“about as good as you’re going to do” in the position.

Foreign assistance has been one the most controversial issues addressed during the 118th Congress.

While many Republicans in both chambers voted to authorize emergency assistance for Ukraine at the start of the conflict in February 2022, support for additional packages has waned among Republicans as the war has dragged on with no clear end or path to victory over Russia in sight.

Opposition to Ukraine funding has been especially staunch in the House of Representatives, where some members like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) have expressed across-the-board opposition to the United States providing financial assistance to foreign nations altogether.

However, Senate Republicans like Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) have also expressed reservations about continued assistance to Ukraine.

With Iran’s historic attack on Israel this week, Congress is expected to turn its attention once again to funding Israel. But many question marks still hang over the issue.

Three efforts to fund the Middle Eastern nation have already failed or stalled in Congress.

Aside from H.R. 6126, Mr. Johnson made another foray into funding Israel earlier this year with a “clean” Israel funding bill that included no IRS or other offsets. That measure also failed on a suspension of the rules after President Joe Biden said he would veto it.

Finally, the Senate has passed a $106 billion national security bill requested by President Biden that includes funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Mr. Johnson has so far declined to bring this legislation up for a vote, in part due to opposition from his caucus.

President Biden has pushed for this holistic foreign assistance package, and has threatened to veto other standalone funding bills.