Congress grapples with foreign aid after Iran attack on Israel

WASHINGTON – An Iranian attack on Israel over the weekend has put new momentum behind a stalled Congressional effort to pass billions of dollars in foreign aid to a pair of key U.S. allies.

After months of delay, House Republicans said on Monday they will take a different approach to get the issue across the finish line: Put funding for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies up for a vote on their own, plus a fourth bill that will include several other unrelated GOP foreign policy priorities. Those include provisions to seize Russian assets to distribute them to Ukraine and to force TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell it or face a practical ban in the United States.

Whatever passes in the House will then be sent to the Senate to grapple with and where it's uncertain if the measure can find the votes to become law.

One thing is clear: The drone and missile attack – retaliation for an Israeli airstrike earlier this month on the Iranian embassy in Damascus – has been met with an outpouring of messages of support for Israel from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The new four-bill approach discussed in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on Monday afternoon in the wake of that attack allows the conference's fractured membership to vote in favor of funding for Israel without simultaneously approving funding for Ukraine.

It also introduces new uncertainty for the path forward for the aid package – the funding for Israel has until now been connected to another $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and $5 billion for Taiwan as part of the national security supplemental.

The White House and Democrats on both ends of Capitol Hill have been urging the Republican-led House to pass that package as-is, despite a vocal faction on the left that has raised concerns about sending additional aid to Israel amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that President Joe Biden still opposes a standalone Israel aid bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday he’ll “take a look at it,” and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters he would hold off on judgment "until we understand the substance."

Along with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a handful of moderate Republicans in the Senate, the Biden administration and its supporters in Congress maintain the dual approach remains the fastest way to get much-needed aid to both allies.

However, House Republicans remain divided over Ukraine aid, which former President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism over. Around one third of the GOP conference is staunchly against more Ukraine funding, though supporters of the package say there would be enough votes between both parties to pass it if it reached the floor.

The stakes are high for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has the power to put the bill up for a vote whenever he pleases but risks losing his job if he does so.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has argued Johnson has failed the GOP conference and threatened to attempt to remove him from the speaker’s office if he tries to pass Ukraine aid. Greene left the closed-door conference meeting Monday afternoon frustrated with Johnson's plan, calling it a "scam" and the "wrong direction." The conservative firebrand though did not commit to when she would call up her vote to remove Johnson.

But the new approach seems to be well-received by key conservatives in the House: House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told reporters on Monday he supported the plan, and Republican Study Committee Chair Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said Johnson is doing "the right thing."

While conservatives have often used procedural tactics to freeze the House in protest of leadership, they're signaling they will allow Johnson's plan to hit the floor for a vote. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a hardliner who sits on the House Rules Committee, said he wouldn't stop foreign aid from coming to the floor, saying lawmakers "deserve" to vote on it.

How the plan came together in the House

Johnson had been signaling for weeks that the House would advance legislation to support Ukraine, and on Sunday told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that the House will "try again this week" to pass Israel funding. But in both instances, he would not say whether the House would consider the $95 billion Senate-passed supplemental.

Republicans also said they were discussing a vote on each tranche of aid separately, rather than as a package, or a vote only on Israel funding, which has strong support among House Republicans.

But the House has tried and failed to do so twice before: The first attempt in November passed the House but has stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate because the bill includes funding cuts to the IRS. Johnson’s decision to move an Israel aid bill with spending offsets drew condemnation from Democrats and even some Republicans who said the IRS cuts have impeded congressional action on Israel.

The second attempt, a “clean” bill without any funding cuts, in February failed in the House over bipartisan concerns it would take away leverage to pass Ukraine aid.

That second attempt noticeably garnered more support from 46 centrist and pro-Israel House Democrats, who supported the legislation begrudgingly while lambasting House Republican leadership for not putting the Senate package on the floor.

The House is slated to vote on a swath of legislation aimed at sanctioning Iran and reiterating U.S. support for Israel in the wake of Iran’s attack. With Israel once again on top of minds, it’s possible another crack at a clean Israel aid bill would draw more Democratic support and pass, but such a move could endanger aid to Kyiv if Congress decides to move on it as a standalone issue.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who supports Ukraine funding, said on CBS Sunday that he has “a commitment” from Johnson that he will put it up for a vote, and House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told NBC that he expects a Ukraine aid vote this week.

While Johnson mulled over his options under intense pressure to pass Ukraine funding, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were attempting to sidestep Republican leaders and instead muscle Ukraine aid to the floor themselves.

House Democrats have largely rallied behind an archaic procedure called a discharge petition that would force the lower chamber to vote on the Senate’s supplemental package. The petition currently has more than 190 signatures and requires 218 to call a vote on the floor.

It’s unclear though if the Democratic effort can succeed. A number of progressive lawmakers critical of how Israel has approached its war in Gaza likely won’t sign on to the discharge petition. Democrats would need tens of Republicans to join them and it’s uncertain how many GOP lawmakers would be willing to effectively sidestep Johnson.

Shifting attitudes among Democrats

The attack also comes as support for Israel has been shifting among Democrats.

Frustration inside the left wing of the party has been slowly seeping into the mainstream as Israel’s bombing campaign in pursuit of Hamas has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Aid organizations estimate around half of the population is starving as supplies have struggled to get through Israeli aid restrictions and bombing.

Schumer — the highest-ranking Jewish official in American history — called for Israel to hold new elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in part because “he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.”

That sentiment seemed to hit a turning point in recent weeks after seven aid workers — including one American — with World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli military strike as they attempted to deliver aid to Gaza. Netanyahu also refused to back down from a planned attack on Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are living.

This prompted calls for new strings attached to aid to Israel. Forty Democrats, including Biden ally and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent a letter to the Biden administration urging it to withhold offensive weapons transfers to Israel.

But that’s unlikely to halt Democratic support for the Israel and Ukraine funding currently in front of the House, which passed the Senate with 70 votes.

Schumer on Monday called for swift passage of the funding, emphasizing the threats to Israel “on all sides.”

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a close Biden ally, Israel advocate and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN after the World Central Kitchen strike: “I think we’re at that point” that the U.S. should pursue a change in policy toward Israel.

But Coons clarified to USA TODAY last week that his comments represented a "fairly narrow and precise concern" about Israel's recent efforts in Gaza and "should not be misunderstood as being unwilling to support funding for Israeli defense.”

“I will strongly defend Israel against any attacks from Iran, from Hezbollah, from other Iranian proxies," Coons said.

Contributing: Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Congress grapples with foreign aid after Iran attack on Israel