Biden threatens to veto House Republicans’ standalone Israel aid bill

CNN
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President Joe Biden will veto a standalone aid package for Israel, the White House said on Monday, as House Republicans seek to block a long-awaited bipartisan Senate border deal that includes aid for US allies. Announced.

“The administration is committed to reaching a national security agreement that secures borders and provides assistance to the peoples of Ukraine and Israel, while providing much-needed humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected civilians around the world.” , spent months working with a bipartisan group of senators,” the White House said in a statement. “Instead of honestly addressing our most pressing national security challenges, this bill is yet another cynical political ploy.”

“Israel’s security should be sacred, not a political game,” the statement continued.

The bill, introduced by House Speaker Mike Johnson last week, joins the Senate’s $118.2 billion bill that would give the president significant restrictions on the entry of illegal immigrants at the southern border and send billions of dollars to Israel and Ukraine. The contents give the authority to provide the following information. The Republican pushback comes after pushback from House Republicans and former President Donald Trump.

CNN previously reported that Prime Minister Johnson plans to pass the $17.6 billion Israel bill with no offset, increasing pressure on Democrats to support him, but this is facing headwinds from the right and left. There is.

In an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju on Monday, Johnson said Biden’s veto threat “is a betrayal of Israel, our great ally and friend, at a time of desperate need.”

He went on to say, “So Israel is at war, they are fighting for their very existence. The idea that he would do that is just outrageous. And I think he’s going to hear quite a bit about the veto threat being said.”

The speaker warned that the Senate border policy bill, which includes $14.1 billion in security aid to Israel, would be “dysfunctional on arrival” in the House, angering President Trump’s public and forcing the bill to pass. It casts doubt on the probability of its success. Even if it passes the Senate, that seems unlikely as of Monday night.

Prime Minister Johnson last week called on the Senate to consider the Israel bill quickly, increasing pressure on senators to abandon efforts to link aid to Israel with other issues.

On Monday, the White House called on Congress to pass a broader national security package, saying that a standalone Israel aid bill would “do nothing to protect our borders or protect the Ukrainian people from (Russian president) He said it was a “ploy” that did nothing to protect them. (Vladimir) Putin’s invasion fails to help American synagogues, mosques, and vulnerable places of worship be safe and denies humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom are women and children. ”

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer, Claire Foran, Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett, Priscilla Alvarez and Kristin Wilson contributed to this report.