The House will vote next week on a clean standalone bill providing aid for Israel, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced in a letter on Saturday, representing an about-face for the speaker as the Senate prepares to unveil its own long-awaited border deal and foreign aid package.
Johnson put a $14.3 billion Israel aid package on the floor last year that included partisan IRS funding cuts that Democrats opposed. Now, the speaker is planning to move a $17.6 billion Israel bill with no offsets, upping pressure on Democrats to support it.
In his “Dear Colleague” letter to lawmakers, Johnson attacked senators for excluding him and the House from bipartisan negotiations over a border security deal, which is expected to be paired with aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
“While the Senate appears poised to finally release text of their supplemental package after months of behind closed doors negotiations, their leadership is aware that by failing to include the House in their negotiations, they have eliminated the ability for swift consideration of any legislation,” Johnson wrote. “As I have said consistently for the past three months, the House will have to work its will on these issues and our priorities will need to be addressed.”
Johnson called on the Senate to take up the standalone Israel bill swiftly, ratcheting up pressure on senators to abandon their efforts to keep Israel aid linked with other issues.
“During debate in the House and in numerous subsequent statements, Democrats made clear that their primary objection to the original House bill was with its offsets,” Johnson wrote. “The Senate will no longer have excuses, however misguided, against swift passage of this critical support for our ally.”
Senate negotiators are expected to unveil bill text for a border deal and supplemental funding package no later than Sunday, with procedural votes starting next week.
But its prospects for passage remain in doubt, given the opposition from former President Donald Trump and the House GOP.
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