Democratic senators ended the chances of a standalone Israeli bill passing quickly in the Senate on Monday night.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., sought unanimous consent to quickly pass a $14 billion House-passed relief package – offset by cuts to the IRS – and another $17 billion measure. dollars (which failed in the House) for the embattled US ally, but Democrats opposed it.
The bills include about $4 billion to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which intercepts “99%” of Iran’s drone strikes over the weekend.
It comes as the White House has made clear that President Joe Biden does not support an aid package just for Israel, but President Mike Johnson has said he will place Ukraine and Israel in the House separately.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., called for unanimous consent to quickly approve a $17.6 billion aid package for the embattled U.S. ally, but Democrats are opposed.
Johnson decided on Monday to push three separate bills this week to send billions to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, DailyMail.com confirmed.
A fourth bill will reportedly include several measures, such as requiring TikTok to divest from its Chinese-owned parent company, an effort to obtain seized Russian assets, a lend-lease program for military aid to Ukraine, and also loans for humanitarian aid.
The four bills would be grouped together under the same “rule” to be brought to the House floor for final approval this week before moving to the Senate.
Iranian missiles launched against Israel, as seen on Iranian television
An anti-missile system operates after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on April 14, 2024.
Johnson introduced the Israel-only aid package in the House of Representatives in February, but failed to obtain the two-thirds majority he needed to pass it under suspension.
“We’re going to try again this week and the details of that package are being prepared right now,” he said. “We are looking at the options and all these complementary issues.”
The House passed a $14 billion aid package for Israel in October, but the deal was offset by cuts to IRS funding that led to its demise in the Democratic-led Senate.
Hardline Conservatives have warned Johnson not to include any funding from Ukraine in an aid bill to Israel. Johnson has been coy about how he would like to move forward, but called an emergency conference-wide meeting of his Republicans for Monday night.
“Under no circumstances will the House Freedom Caucus agree to use the emergency situation in Israel as a false justification for imposing aid on Ukraine without compensation and without security for our own open borders,” the conservative Freedom Caucus said in a statement Monday.
Israel has considered Iran’s 350-missile attack a “declaration of war,” although it said 99 percent of the missiles were intercepted.
The strike was in response to Israel’s drone strike in Syria that killed 12 Iranians, including two senior generals.