KEY POINTS
- President Joe Biden would veto the standalone bill, the White House Office of Management and Budget said
- The bill proposes sending $17.6 billion in aid to Israel and omits assistance to Ukraine
- House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would vote on the bill this week
The Biden administration strongly opposed the standalone bill that would provide $17.6 billion in aid to Israel and said the president would veto the bill if it reaches his desk.
In a Monday statement, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said the bill, which is backed by House of Representatives Republicans, is “another cynical political maneuver.”
If the president was presented with the bill, “he would veto it,” the statement declared.
The veto threat comes in light of House Speaker Mike Johnson indicating that the Republican-majority House would vote this week on the standalone bill to provide aid only to Israel.
Johnson’s announcement came after the Biden administration spent months working with Senate Democrats and Republicans on a broader foreign aid bill that also addresses border security funding.
The Senate proposal includes assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific allies while the standalone House bill omits continued U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
The House had already approved a nearly $14.5 billion military aid package in November last year for Israel, but the Senate declined to take it up.
“The Administration spent months working with a bipartisan group of Senators to reach a national security agreement that secures the border and provides support for the people of Ukraine and Israel, while also providing much-needed humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by conflicts around the world,” OMB said in the Monday statement.
“Instead of working in good faith to address the most pressing national security challenges, this bill is another cynical political maneuver. The security of Israel should be sacred, not a political game,” the statement added.
“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 OMB added.
Johnson responded Monday to the White House statement opposing the standalone bill and said the president’s veto would abandon America’s ally “in its time of greatest need.”
“The president’s veto threat is an act of betrayal,” 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.”
