House GOP Plans Pushback Against Biden’s Israeli Arms Transfer Pause
Charlie Kirk Staff
05/11/2024

The Republican-led House is preparing to launch a comprehensive effort to counter President Joe Biden’s suspension of arms transfers to Israel in its fight against the terrorist group Hamas, according to an Axios report on Saturday.
The Biden administration delayed the shipment of military equipment to Israel, urging the U.S. ally to scale back its military actions against Hamas in Gaza due to humanitarian concerns. According to Axios, Republicans are planning to introduce a bill next week that would prevent the Biden administration from withholding military aid to Israel that has already been approved by Congress.
According to Axios, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) stated that the House might vote on the Israel Security Assistance Support Act as early as Wednesday. The bill mandates the Biden administration to disburse already Congress-approved aid to Israel and requires that any withheld weapons be shipped within 15 days.
“I assume they are trying to divide us,” a senior House Democrat told Axios anonymously. “I also expect that some Democrats will vote with them.”
Fewer Democrats may support the bill than the usual group that tends to support pro-Israel Republican legislation, according to the lawmaker who spoke to Axios.
“The question is whether they want to restrict [Biden’s] authority entirely or not. … Whether leadership whips is one question, but then it’s also difficult to tell how far they would go in constraining the authority of the president under any circumstances,” the Democrat told Axios.
On Friday, the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into the pause in aid, expressing concern in a letter to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The committee said it “is alarmed by the Biden Administration’s willingness to play political games with U.S. taxpayer funded assistance going to Israel.”
In a CNN interview on Wednesday, Biden warned that he would cut off offensive aid if Israel entered the populated areas of Rafah. Following this statement, Haim Saban, a Democratic donor and Israeli American, emailed White House officials expressing his opposition to Biden’s threat, as reported by Axios.
“Bad, Bad, Bad, decision, on all levels, Pls reconsider,” Saban wrote in the email, according to Axios. “Let’s not forget that there are more Jewish voters, who care about Israel, than Muslim voters that care about Hamas.”