[PJ] House Republicans will introduce a bill this week that would give Israel $17.6 billion in military aid, more than the $14.3 billion in Israeli aid contained in the national security bill that will be considered by the Senate next week. The extra $3.3 billion is for U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
The Senate bill will also include $61 billion for Ukraine and about $15 billion for aid to Taiwan and border security.
But Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to take up the Senate bill because Senate Democrats "have eliminated the ability for swift consideration of any legislation" because they refused to negotiate the aid package with the House and the House wlill "continue to lead" by taking up and passing a narrow package focused only on aid to Israel.
"As I have said consistently for the past three months, the House will have to work its will on these issues and our priorities will need to be addressed," Johnson wrote.
Those "priorities" don't include aid to Ukraine or changes in immigration law. Any bill that addresses those two issues will have to be passed by a majority of Democrats with some Republican backing. |