Congressional Republicans’ efforts to decouple U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposed aid for Israel and Ukraine have met with opposition from the White House.
Proposed legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives for $14.3 billion for Israel would draw money from cutting the budget of the Internal Revenue Service. It would also remove proposed humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has insisted that “Israel is a separate matter” from Ukraine and that he seeks to bifurcate the two wars.
The proposal is “bad for Israel, for the Middle East region and for our own national security,” said the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). “The bill fails to meet the urgency of the moment by deepening our divides and severely eroding historic bipartisan support of Israel’s security.”
OMB added that the legislation “inserts partisanship into support for Israel, making our ally a pawn in our politics at a moment we must stand together.”
The Senate also opposes the House’s standalone Israel funding bill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) responded by saying: “The bottom line is, it’s not a serious proposal.”
