With Mike Johnson taking over as Speaker, the House of Representatives is back up and running, though House GOP members are only focused on providing aid to one ally.
House Republicans unveiled a new $14.3 billion aid package for Israel on Monday in a show of support to the nation as it continues its war against Hamas.
However, to pay for the aid package, Republicans are looking to cut $14.3 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service. The bill also goes against the White House’s plan to couple aid legislation for Israel with an aid package for Ukraine.
With both factors being non-negotiables for Republicans, it’s unclear if the legislation will pass the Democrat majority Senate and aid will be sent to Israel, as Democrats fought for the IRS funding to be added to their Inflation Reduction Act, signed last year.
Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin (D-MD) said the IRS funding cuts were a “nonstarter” and “poison pill.”
Inside the aid package is $4 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling defense systems, as well as another $1.2 billion for the development of the Iron Beam defense system.
The legislation will go before the House Rules Committee on Wednesday.
Democrats and Republicans have voiced support for assisting Israel in its war against Hamas, which started earlier this month after a surprise attack from the terrorist organization.
Last week, the House overwhelmingly approved a resolution backing Israel and condemning Hamas in the first piece of legislation to be passed under Speaker Johnson.
The White House has also commented on the proposed legislation, as press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the cuts, saying the emergency funding request does not require offsets.
“Like other emergency funding that Congress has passed with bipartisan support, they do not require offsets. They just don’t,” Jean-Pierre said.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL) shared a statement on the legislation, calling Johnson’s measure “offensive,” adding that he was playing “political games.”
“Support for defending Israel should not come with conditions, be it cutting foreign military financing by 30% or offsetting aid in a time of crucial need,” Wasserman Schultz, who is Jewish, said in her statement. “I am deeply disturbed by Speaker Johnson playing political games with Israeli emergency funding, something our nation has never done in a time of crisis.”