Washington – Iran large-scale attack on Israel has increased pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson to soon hold a vote on a foreign aid package that also includes funding for Ukraine and Taiwan.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized Johnson on Monday for not discussing a A package of 95 billion dollars for a vote after it was approved by the Senate months ago, in February. Since then, this project has languished in the House, amid divisions among Republicans over aid to Ukraine.
“The very serious events of this past weekend in the Middle East and Eastern Europe underscore the need for Congress to act immediately,” the New York Democrat wrote in a letter to a colleague on Monday. “We must immediately pass the bipartisan, comprehensive national security bill passed by the Senate.”
Jeffries added that “it’s a Churchill or Chamberlain moment,” referring to British prime ministers during World War II. Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940, is best known for his policy of appeasement which failed to prevent Adolf Hitler from starting war.
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts also called on Johnson to take an immediate vote on the Senate bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, have also pushed for the House to vote on the bill.
Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, told Fox News on Sunday that the House would “try again this week” to pass war aid to Israel in response to Iran’s drone and missile attack over the weekend, in retaliation for a strike against an Iranian. consulate in Syria earlier this month. But it is unclear whether this will ultimately include aid to Ukraine and Taiwan.
“The details of this package are being put together now. We are looking at options and any additional questions,” Johnson said.
For months, the speaker has been under pressure from defense hawks in both parties to pass foreign aid legislation to fulfill America’s promise to continue helping Ukraine in its war against Russia , amid repeated warnings that kyiv is running out of ammunition. Johnson has instead considered other ways of providing the funding, including through a loan, but has not yet revealed a plan.
The attack on Israel has heightened the urgency of getting the Senate bill across the finish line in the House, but it has also threatens Johnson’s leadership role as he faces retaliation from the right wing of his party, which opposes sending additional aid to Ukraine. If Johnson tries to pass a separate bill on Israel, he risks losing Democratic votes.
The House Freedom Caucus, a conservative party, warned Johnson against using the situation in Israel to push aid to Ukraine.
“The House Freedom Caucus unequivocally stands with Israel. Congress should provide aid to Israel,” the group said in a statement. “Under no circumstances will the House Freedom Caucus agree to use the emergency situation in Israel as a false justification to impose aid on Ukraine without compensation and without security for our own wide-open borders.”
White House spokesman John Kirby said the White House opposed a standalone Israeli bill.
“You have two good friends here – Israel and Ukraine – who are fighting very different fights, but active fights for their sovereignty and for their safety and security,” Kirby told reporters at the daily press briefing. “And time is not on anyone’s side here in either case, so they need to act quickly on this, and the best way to get this aid into the hands of the IDF and into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers is to pass this bipartisan bill that the Senate passed.”
Nikole Killion and Kaia Hubbard contributed reporting.
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