WASHINGTON — The House approved a nearly $14.5 billion military aid package Thursday for Israel, a muscular U.S. response to the war with Hamas but also a partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson that poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President Joe Biden.
In a departure from norms, Johnson's package required that the emergency aid be offset with cuts in government spending elsewhere. That tack established the new House GOP's conservative leadership, but it also turned what would typically be a bipartisan vote into one dividing Democrats and Republicans. Biden has said he would veto the bill, which was approved 226-196, with 12 Democrats — including four from South Florida — joining most Republicans on a largely party-line vote.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, was among the South Florida Democrats to vote for the bill, but she harshly criticized the GOP House Speaker for “the gross politicization of this critical funding and [the] unprecedented conditioning of emergency aid to Israel.”
“For me, as a Jew, as a Zionist and as the representative of a large Jewish community, I personally needed to cast my vote to stand by Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, in this moment of crisis,” she said in a statement following the vote.
She vowed to lobby the White House, the Senate, and House lawmakers “to ensure America provides vital humanitarian aid and security assistance for our allies in Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.”
Other South Florida Democrats voting to approve the bill: U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D−Miami Gardens, U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D−Parkland, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D−West Palm Beach
U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D−Miramar, was the lone South Florida Democrat to vote against the measure.
“While I unequivocally support security assistance for Israel, House Republicans led by Speaker Johnson put forward an extremist and reckless supplemental package,” she said in a statement.
The five Republican lawmakers from South Florida voted with the majority to pass the bill.
Johnson, R-La., said the Republican package would provide Israel with the assistance needed to defend itself, free hostages held by Hamas and eradicate the militant Palestinian group, accomplishing "all of this while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of the federal government.”
Democrats said that approach would only delay help for Israel. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has warned that the “stunningly unserious” bill has no chances in the Senate.
The first substantial legislative effort in Congress to support Israel in the war falls far short of Biden's request for nearly $106 billion that would also back Ukraine as it fights Russia, along with U.S. efforts to counter China and address security at the border with Mexico.
It is also Johnson's first big test as House speaker as the Republican majority tries to get back to work after the month of turmoil since ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker. Johnson has said he will turn next to aid for Ukraine along with U.S. border security, preferring to address Biden's requests separately as GOP lawmakers increasingly oppose aiding Kyiv.
The White House's veto warning said Johnson's approach “fails to meet the urgency of the moment” and would set a dangerous precedent by requiring emergency funds to come from cuts elsewhere.
The vote was difficult for some lawmakers, particularly Democrats who wanted to support Israel and may have trouble explaining the trade-off to constituents, especially as the large AIPAC lobby and other groups encouraged passage. In all, two Republicans opposed the bill.
To pay for the bill, House Republicans have attached provisions that would cut billions from the IRS that Democrats approved last year and Biden signed into law as a way to go after tax cheats. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says doing that would end up costing the federal government a net $12.5 billion because of lost revenue from tax collections.
Republicans scoffed at that assessment, but the independent budget office is historically seen as a trusted referee.
In the Democratic-controlled Senate, Schumer made clear that the House bill would be rejected.
“The Senate will not take up the House GOP's deeply flawed proposal, and instead we'll work on our own bipartisan emergency aid package" that includes money for Israel and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian assistance for Gaza and efforts to confront China.
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri, Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
WLRN Staff also contributed to this report.
