US Congressional leaders are at odds over the next steps to provide more funding for Israel

US Congressional leaders are at odds over the next steps to provide more funding for Israel

Congressional leaders from both parties were quick to condemn Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel this Saturday but remain at odds over how to approve additional Israeli funding in the wake of the attack.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he would move forward with a vote on additional Israeli aid but did not elaborate on his plans as he spoke to conservatives about a potential influx of Ukraine funding.

“House Republicans and the Republican Party understand the need to stand with Israel. We will try again this week, and the details of the package are being worked out now. We’re looking at options and all these additional issues,” Johnson told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

But hardline conservatives warned Johnson not to attach Ukraine funding to any Israeli aid package, underscoring competing pressures on the speaker as he weighs a critical decision on the way forward following Iran’s attack on Israel.

“Congress should be clear: no action by Iran or Israel deserves a vote on the Ukraine omnibus that the Senate is seeking,” GOP Rep. Warren Davidson wrote on social media.

Johnson’s right-wing pressure campaign comes amid bipartisan calls – including from GOP Leader Mitch McConnell – to take away the Senate-passed foreign package that includes money for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, arguing it is the fastest way to get aid to Israel.

Johnson has vowed to table some sort of Israeli aid bill this week, but said the details were still being finalized.

It’s all a complicated calculation for Johnson. The House has previously struggled to pass a stand-alone Israel aid bill, but Johnson could draw ire from the right if he ties it to Ukraine or puts the Senate bill on the floor.

The speaker, however, has tried to get former President Donald Trump’s key buy-in for a more GOP-friendly Ukraine aid package, such as structuring the aid as a loan – which Trump signaled openness to during a press conference with Johnson on March -a-Lago.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday that the GOP-led House should move forward with a bipartisan Senate-passed national security aid package, which includes funding for Israel as well as Ukraine and Taiwan, in the wake of the Iran attack.

“In light of tonight’s events, it is even clearer that the best way to help Israel is for the House to quickly pass the Senate’s bipartisan national security supplement next week,” he said.

The House has so far refused to take a vote on the Senate-passed legislation, with many House conservatives opposed to sending additional aid to Ukraine and wanting a tougher US southern border policy included in any aid package. But it’s unclear how the Democrat-controlled Senate will approach whatever legislation comes from the GOP-led House.

Individual members have also weighed in on the conflict since Iran’s attack on Israel, with Democrats urging Johnson to bring up the Senate’s foreign aid package as many Republicans called for Schumer to act on Israel alone.

Responding to calls from McConnell for the House to bring to the floor the additional $95.3 billion foreign aid package that passed the Senate in February, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sidestepped, insisting on Sunday that the Senate could provide self-help to Israel and win House approval. .

“We can go on Monday to Washington, DC, and we can deliver aid to Israel immediately,” Rubio told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” adding: “If the Senate sends the Israel aid bill to the House People. On Monday, the House will approve it.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, who emphasized the time-sensitive nature of the issue, called on Johnson to bring the additional foreign aid package passed by the Senate in February to the floor on Monday.

“I think the most important preventive action that Congress can take … is for Speaker Johnson not to take days or weeks to try and come up with some other package but to pass an addition tomorrow,” Coons told Tapper in a separate interview.

How did Congress get to this point
Although the Senate passed his foreign aid bill in February, Johnson said he never planned to bring the bill to the floor. The House, meanwhile, tried but failed to pass a standalone package for $17.6 billion in aid to Israel amid opposition from both Republican and Democratic leaders.

Because of opposition among conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus, Johnson was forced to introduce the bill under a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority of the House to pass it. That means he needs the support of a large number of Democrats to support him, and fails to cross that threshold. In a closed-door caucus meeting before the vote, House Democratic leadership made a strong case for support of a stand-alone Israel aid package to members.

However, given the attacks by Iran and its proxies, the leadership in both chambers is under increasing pressure to reach a consensus.

CNN’s Haley Talbot, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, Aileen Graef and Avery Lotz contributed to this report.