U.S. congressional efforts to decouple Israel and Ukraine aid

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday announced plans to present a new national security spending package in Congress this week. The four-part package aims to finally pass long-stalled foreign aid legislation by decoupling Ukraine aid from Israel aid while also appeasing Republicans who have opposed past funding measures. Voting could take place as soon as 72 hours after the text is released, allowing lawmakers to read the drafts and propose amendments.

The package is currently split into four separate bills, reflecting most of the $95.3 billion aid package that the Senate passed in February, which allocated $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and $5 billion for Indo-Pacific allies trying to counter China.

Under Johnson’s plan, House members would have to approve Israel and Ukraine aid separately. Money for Kyiv would go toward manufacturing munitions in the United States and replenishing U.S. military stockpiles. A third bill would assist Taiwan and other U.S. allies. And a fourth would address various Republican wishes, including requiring countries to pay back some of the aid given to them, other funds being financed by selling off seized Russian assets, and forcing TikTok parent company ByteDance to divest itself of the popular social media app or face a ban. The House approved a similar TikTok bill with bipartisan support last month, but the Senate has since stalled on it.

“We know that the world is watching us to see how we react,” Johnson said. “They’re watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and our interests around the globe—and we will.”

Iran’s strike against Israel last Saturday increased pressure on Johnson to hold a vote on Israeli aid. Yet the House speaker continues to face opposition from both the far left and far right. Some liberal Democrats have protested Washington sending unfettered funding to Israel, pointing to the Israeli military’s attack on a humanitarian aid convoy on April 1 that killed seven volunteers, escalating violence in the West Bank, and worsening famine in Gaza.

It is unclear if Johnson’s proposal includes sending around $9 billion in assistance to Gaza. “There is no circumstance that we could support anything that does not include humanitarian aid,” House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told Axios.

Meanwhile, some conservative lawmakers condemned Johnson’s decision to advance Ukraine funding not tied to border security provisions that the GOP wants and Democrats oppose. On Tuesday, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie announced that he will co-sponsor Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution to oust Johnson from the speakership for failing to include migration reforms at the U.S. southern border in the spending proposal. Massie did not say when they might put that resolution into motion. “I am not resigning,” Johnson said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Biden administration officials said the package must include aid to both Ukraine and Israel, and the Senate majority and minority leaders urged Johnson to pass the $95.3 billion, Senate-approved package as is. This means that even if Johnson’s bill passes the House, which Republicans hold a thin majority over, its passage in the Senate remains uncertain.