The House passed a resolution condemning President Joe Biden for his threats to withhold weapons shipments to Israel in a Republican-led vote that put Democrats at a crossroads on an issue that is set to become increasingly relevant ahead of the 2024 election.
Lawmakers voted 224-187 to pass the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, which decries Biden’s “dangerous hold” on weapons to Israel while also proposing to withhold funds from the secretaries of state and defense as well as the National Security Council until the materials are delivered. The resolution passed largely along party lines, with 16 Democrats joining in advancing the measure.
The resolution condemns Biden’s actions and would require his administration to expedite weapons, funds, and other forms of aid within 30 days. The bill has overwhelming GOP support, particularly after Biden threatened last week that he would stop providing artillery shells and other weapons to Israel if it invaded the city of Rafah.
However, the bill prompted backlash from even some of the most pro-Israel Democrats, who argued the resolution only served as a political weapon.
“This is a completely misleading and unnecessary bill,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) told reporters on Wednesday. “Everything it calls for, the administration is already doing. And it is just yet another example of the Republicans using Israel and antisemitism for their own political purposes.”
Despite passing the House, the bill faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-led Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has already said the measure is “going nowhere.” Even if it did manage to pass the Senate, Biden has already threatened to veto the resolution should it make it to his desk.
That threat angered House GOP leadership, who accused Democrats of putting one of the country’s allies at risk as it fights off the Hamas militant group. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called on Schumer to bring the legislation to the Senate floor hours before the vote, saying Congress “needs to help Israel extinguish the flame of terror that is wrought by Hamas.”
“You are either with Israel or you are not,” Johnson said. “If Schumer refuses to bring this up for a vote, he’ll be telling the world that his party, the Democrats, are no longer willing to stand with our great allies. I don’t think that that is a palatable position for the American people.”
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The White House has pushed back on that suggestion, arguing the bill is a “misguided reaction to a deliberate distortion” of Biden’s strategy in Israel.
“The President has been clear: we will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” the White House said in a statement. “Our commitment to Israel is ironclad.”
