Biden threatens to veto House GOP’s standalone bill for Israel aid

With the Senate scheduled to hold an initial vote Wednesday, Feb. 7, on a $118 billion bill focusing on border security and aid to Ukraine and Israel, House Republicans are looking to push forward with a standalone bill of their own that would provide aid only to Israel. In response, President Joe Biden has come out to say he would veto the House bill. In a statement, the White House called the standalone bill a “political ploy” that “does nothing to help secure the border” or “defend the people of Ukraine.”

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“The administration strongly opposes this ploy, which does nothing to secure the border, does nothing to help the people of Ukraine defend themselves against Putin’s aggression, fails to support the security of American synagogues, mosques and vulnerable places of worship, and denies humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom are women and children,” The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told CNN on Monday, Feb. 5, that Biden’s veto threat is “a betrayal of our great ally and friend Israel in their time of desperate need.”

“Israel is at war, fighting for its very right to exist, while our brave men and women in uniform are in harm’s way on his orders to deter Iran,” Rep. Johnson said. “In threatening to veto aid to Israel and to our military forces, President Biden is abandoning our ally in its time of greatest need. I urge friends of Israel and opponents of Iran to call the president’s bluff and pass this clean aid package.”

The speaker has said that the Senate’s bill would be dead on arrival in the House, but it might not get to that point, as on Monday night, Feb. 5, Senate Republicans held a closed-door meeting, threatening to block the bipartisan package.