House Republicans say they plan to move forward on the Israel aid bill on Thursday, despite pushback from the Biden administration and some congressional Democrats.
The White House said earlier this week that US President Joe Biden would veto the standalone aid package. The proposal turns Israel into a "pawn" of US domestic politics, the White House said, adding that the legislation would send a "terrible message" to Russia by not including Ukraine aid.
The Biden administration initially requested $106 billion from the US Congress in an emergency supplemental funding request, which also included more than $61 billion in aid for Ukraine.
The House Republican proposal also attempts to offset the $14.3 billion in aid by rescinding an equal amount of funds set aside to bolster the Internal Revenue Service. However, a Congressional Budget Office estimate said that the bill could still add nearly $12.5 billion to the deficit over the next decade.
"The House GOP released a partisan package with no humanitarian aid for Gaza, no aid to Ukraine, and poison pills that increase the deficit and help tax cheats avoid paying their fair share," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he is "conceptually" in the same place as Schumer. Both Senate leaders view the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine as connected, McConnell said.
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said earlier this week that House Republicans are united behind the bill, but Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have said that they will not back the legislation.
Representative Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Wednesday that he believes the Biden administration is bluffing when it says the President will veto the bill if it reaches his desk.
“I think President Biden’s bluffing. I don’t think he’ll veto aid to Israel,” Paul said in an interview on US television. “You really think he’s going to stand up in front of the world and say, ‘Oh, we’re not sending aid to Israel just because it’s paid for’?"
Paul also praised Johnson for introducing the bill, calling it "the conservative thing to do."
The Israeli aid request comes following the launch of a surprise attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants on October 7, which prompted a state of war in the country. Israel has since conducted a number of strikes on Gaza and initiated some ground operations in the area. Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have been killed and tens of thousands more injured so far as a result of the conflict.