House Republicans to vote on bill requiring delivery of bombs to Israel and pressure Democrats
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives was expected Thursday to issue a rebuke to President Joe Biden for interrupting a shipment of bombs to Israel and vote on legislation that would try to force the arms transfer, as Republicans worked to end Democratic divisions over Israel’s war and to draw attention to Hamas.
In an effort to discourage Israel from its offensive on the busy southern Gaza city of Rafah, the Biden administration this month suspended a weapons shipment of 3,500 bombs — some as large as 2,000 pounds — that could kill hundreds of people in populated areas. Republicans were furious, accusing Biden of abandoning America’s closest ally in the Middle East.
The debate over the bill, which was brought to the House of Representatives this week by Republican Party leadership, showed Washington’s deeply fractured view of the war between Israel and Hamas. The White House and Democratic leaders have scrambled to gain support from a caucus in the House of Representatives ranging from moderates frustrated that the president would allow any daylight between the U.S. and Israel to progressives outraged that he still always sends weapons.
On the right, Republicans said the president has nothing to do with reprimanding Israel for the way it uses the US-made weapons that play a major role in the war against Hamas. They were unhappy with the Biden administration moving forward this week with a new $1 billion sale of tank ammunition, tactical vehicles and mortar shells to Israel.
“We are beyond frustrated,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said. “I don’t think we should tell the Israelis how to conduct their military campaign, period.”
The House bill censures Biden for initiating the pause on bomb shipments and would withhold funding from the State Department, Defense Department and National Security Council until the delivery is made.
The White House has said Biden would veto the bill if it passes Congress, and the Democratic-led Senate appears certain to reject it.
“It’s going nowhere,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said this week.
Republicans were undeterred as they tried to highlight Democratic divisions over the war between Israel and Hamas. Appearing at the Capitol ahead of the vote Thursday morning, House Republican leaders argued that passage of the bill in the House of Representatives would increase pressure on Schumer and Biden.
“It is President Biden and Senator Schumer themselves who are standing in the way of giving Israel the tools it desperately needs to defend itself,” said Chairman Mike Johnson.
Biden halted the transfer of the bombs this month because he feared the weapons could cause massive casualties in Rafah. The move underscored growing differences between his government and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over their handling of the war.
More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed as Israel tried to eliminate Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people and captured another 250 in Israel. Hundreds of thousands of people would risk dying if Israel attacks Rafah, the United Nations humanitarian agency warned, as so many have fled there for safety.
The heavy toll of Israel’s campaign has sparked intense protests on the left, including on college campuses nationwide and some directly against Biden. At the same time, a group of moderate Democrats in Congress have expressed almost unconditional support for Israel. About two dozen Democrats in the House of Representatives signed a letter to the Biden administration last week saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing bomb shipments.
Faced with the possibility that a significant number of Democrats will vote for the GOP bill, the White House this week has been in contact with lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, including a classified briefing on the security situation.
The Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives has also worked hard to convince rank-and-file lawmakers to vote against the bill.
“This is yet another political stunt by the Republican Party in the House of Representatives,” said Rep. Katherine Clark, a Connecticut Democrat who is second in House leadership. She said the bill would endanger national security by withholding funding from key defense agencies.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he thought “very few” Democrats would vote for the bill, saying it was more about political messaging than passing actual laws .
As the general election campaign comes into focus, Johnson has turned to pushing party-line bills, including legislation on immigration, local policing and anti-Semitism, aimed at forcing Democrats to hold tough votes.
Still, it appeared some Democrats were likely to support the legislation.
“The administration is hesitant, so I’m going to vote for the bill when it comes to the floor,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, this week.
Other Democrats who strongly support Israel said they had not yet decided how to vote and criticized Republicans for using it as a political tool.
“They’re just using this to trap Democrats and it seems like they’re pretending they really care about Israel,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat.
Another Florida Democrat, Jared Moskowitz, said he was also considering the messages sent to the Jewish community in the United States.
“My community is concerned right now,” he said. “Things don’t happen in a vacuum.”
Historically, the US has sent massive amounts of weapons to Israel, and these shipments only accelerated after the October 7 attack. But some progressives are calling for an end to that relationship, arguing that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide — a characterization the Biden administration has rejected.
“My fear is that our government and we as citizens, as taxpayers, will be complicit in genocide,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat. “And that goes against everything we value as a nation.”