House Speaker Says Bill to Split Israel Aid from Ukraine Will be Brought to Floor

Speaker Johnson has said he supports more spending on Ukraine but wants to get more aid to Israel as quickly as possible

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Sunday that a stand-alone bill to provide Israel with billions more in military aid will be brought to the House floor this week instead of President Biden’s $105 billion request that also includes spending for Ukraine, Taiwan, and the border.

“We’re going to move a stand-alone Israel funding bill this week in the House. I know our colleagues, our Republican colleagues in the Senate, have a similar measure,” Johnson said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” according to The Hill.

A group of Senate Republicans introduced a bill to provide Israel with $14.3 billion in additional military aid, the same amount for Israel that’s in Biden’s request. The $14.3 billion is on top of the $3.8 billion that Israel receives from the US each year. Johnson, an evangelical Christian, has expressed support for continuing the proxy war in Ukraine but says Israel is the priority.

“We believe that that is a pressing and urgent need. There are lots of things going on around the world that we have to address,” Johnson said. “And we will. But, right now, what’s happening in Israel takes the immediate attention. And I think we have got to separate that and get it through.”

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has also said a stand-alone Israel bill will be coming this week. “I think what we’re going to do is really because the need is so urgent now in Israel, is to start with Israel first and then deal with the other.”

Johnson has previously voted against Ukraine aid packages but said in an interview this past Thursday night that he believes the US should keep supporting the war. “Now we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to prevail in Ukraine because I don’t believe it would stop there,” he said.

Johnson also tied together the wars in Gaza, Ukraine, and the new Cold War with China. “Hamas and Hezbollah are proxies of Iran, and they’re tied in now with Russia and China. I mean, it is a new axis of evil. That’s how we see it,” he said.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.