House Speaker Mike Johnson has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle over efforts to pass a standalone funding bill for Israel.
Congressional Republicans appeared split on Tuesday over how to handle President Biden’s $106 billion request for international priorities, including military aid for Israel and Ukraine, as key GOP senators appeared at odds with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s strategy to corral his raucous caucus.
The divisions promised yet more uncertainty after weeks in which House Republicans were unable to settle on a leader, and marked the first major test for Johnson amid two international crises. At a Senate hearing on the administration’s proposal, Biden’s top foreign policy lieutenants warned that Washington’s rivals will endeavor to exploit American dysfunction — and that Ukraine’s ability to press its offensive against Russia could peter out within weeks if funding is not renewed.
Johnson (R-La.) faced immediate backlash over his first key legislative decision, as the newly elected GOP leader seeks to unlock emergency aid for Israel without tethering it to additional support for Ukraine. His approach — countering Biden’s request with a significantly smaller bill that also seeks cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, a top priority for the right — took fire from both parties, and the White House promptly labeled it a non-starter.
The administration also panned Johnson for leaving out Biden’s funding proposals for humanitarian assistance, increasing immigration enforcement and countering China.
House Republicans are expected to try to pass their alternative legislation through the House on Friday.
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee appeared to be in broad agreement about a need for swift approval of a major package that would help Israel and Ukraine.
Testifying in front of the Senate committee, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sought to connect assistance for Ukraine and Israel to U.S. leadership across the globe and to efforts, they said, by both Russia and Iran to challenge U.S. friends and allies.
Iran and Russia pose a joint threat to the United States and its allies, they argued, saying that aid to help Ukraine fight back against Russia would also deal a blow to Tehran.
“We’ve seen Iran provide munitions and drones to Russia, and Russia use abilities to attack Ukrainian infrastructure, attack civilians, towns and villages across the land,” Austin told senators. He said that the United States wanted to make sure “we’re dialing back some of the capability.
