House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will vote on a separate aid bill for Israel next week.
This is reported by NBC.
Mike Johnson has criticized a supplemental national security bill from the US Senate that would combine aid to Israel with funding for Ukraine and a border security deal.
According to him, the Senate understands that "by not including the House of Representatives in their negotiations, they lost the opportunity to quickly consider any bill."
In addition, the Speaker of the House of Representatives criticized the Senate for what he called "the failure to pass relevant legislation in a timely manner" and said that the House must act against the background of "the dangerous circumstances that Israel is currently facing."
The new draft law on aid to Israel provides for the allocation of $17.6 billion to it, as well as financing of American forces in the region. The previous so-called joint bill provided $14.3 billion for Israel.
The White House reacted to this statement by Mike Johnson, saying that "Republicans in the House of Representatives are offering their latest cynical political maneuver."
The administration of US President Joe Biden opposes "this prank", which will not contribute to the security of the border and will not help Ukraine to defend itself against the invasion of Russia. The White House believes that House Republicans should work bipartisanly, as the administration and Senate do on national security issues.
- On October 20, 2023, US President Joe Biden submitted a request to Congress for additional funding of approximately $106 billion. It, in particular, provided for aid to Ukraine ($61.4 billion, the largest package) and Israel ($14.3 billion), as well as providing funds for the security of the US southern border. However, consideration of the document was blocked by representatives of the Republican Party, who insist on strengthening measures to control migration at the US-Mexico border. Biden called the Republicansʼ refusal to support the bill political blackmail, noting that "the stakes are too high."
- Currently, aid to Ukraine from the United States is suspended. This will continue until the US Congress passes new funding.