Speaker Mike Johnson’s $17B Israel aid standalone bill COLLAPSES after Democrats join hardline Republicans to tank measure following days of internal turbulence in Congress

Speaker Mike Johnson’s standalone $17 billion bill for Israel failed spectacularly in the House of Representatives after Democrats joined hardline Republicans to undermine the measure.

The critical ally of the United States has now been without congressionally approved aid for nearly four months since the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked war in Gaza.

Continued chaos in Congress – especially within the Republican Conference – led to the bill failing by a vote of 250 to 180.

Just minutes earlier, Republicans had a vote on articles of impeachment for DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, delivering an embarrassing blow to Speaker Mike Johnson.

Johnson was seen huddled with his advisers during the impeachment vote, which remained tied at 215-215 until Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, switched his vote to no and released Mayorkas.

And just hours earlier, on the other side of the Capitol, Republicans effectively killed a $118 billion deal for Israel, Ukraine and border security due to infighting.

Johnson gave the outcome of the vote to Democrats, who he said were “committed” to “using Israel as leverage” to try to push through the additional deal.

The Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives began to oppose the Israeli aid bill, and some Republicans chafed at Johnson’s leadership and even openly opposed it.

Outspoken Jewish Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York said he is a “proud supporter” of Israel but called the vote a “cynical ploy” by the Republican Party mired in “chaos.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Johnson’s bill a “political stunt” and said Democrats will focus on advancing the “comprehensive” border security, Ukraine and Israel aid package led by the Senate.

Republican Party hardliners in the House of Representatives also opposed the bill, saying it would cost too much taxpayer money without sufficient offsets for the expenses. previously $14.3 billion Israel bill that was adopted by the House of Representatives in November.

The collapse of the vote occurred hours after Johnson presided over the election Israeli Knesset Amir Ohana and family members of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 Capitol.

“When our nation runs a monthly deficit of $200 billion and a national debt of $34 trillion, America should not and should not borrow to support Israel,” said the Freedom Caucus, led by Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. in a statement.

On the other side of the aisle, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said he was concerned about the bill’s lack of support for Ukraine.

I’m concerned about the strategy,” he said on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday.

“I think we have four major threats to national security. We have Ukraine, we have Israel, and what’s going on in the Middle East, and we have our border. We are currently negotiating these four. Ukraine must be financed.’

Johnson tabled the bill under suspension, meaning it would need Republican and Democratic support to pass with a two-thirds majority.

The speaker said earlier Tuesday that if the vote fails, he will put the relief package back on the floor next week.

The House of Representatives passed a $14 billion Israel bill last November, but Democrats opposed it because of the offsets, which would require money back from the IRS.

In addition, the White House on Monday threatened to veto the bill and urged Congress to pass the $118 billion bill instead — which Johnson deemed an “act of treason.”

“By threatening to veto aid to Israel and our armed forces, President Biden is abandoning our ally at a time of greatest need,” Johnson said in response.

“I urge friends of Israel and opponents of Iran to call the president’s bluff and pass this clean aid package.”

Across the Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is now facing calls to resign from his fellow Republicans. He admitted earlier Tuesday that the $118 supplemental security bill — which would give Israel $14 billion in aid — is also dead.

“It’s been made pretty clear to us by the speaker that this is not going to become law,” McConnell said earlier Tuesday. “It seems to me, and most of our members, that we have no real chance of making a law here.”

More than 22 Republicans in the Senate openly opposed the bill, with Johnson and House Republicans saying it would be “dead on arrival.”

The Senate can now separate the Ukraine-Israel aid package from the bill’s border provisions in an effort to pass legislation to help critical U.S. allies

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called Johnson’s relief bill a “cynical political maneuver” designed to reduce the chances that the Senate deal, which would provide money to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the border, would pass.

“The administration strongly opposes this ploy, which does nothing to secure the border, does nothing to help the Ukrainian people defend themselves against Putin’s aggression, fails to ensure the security of American synagogues, mosques and vulnerable houses of worship support, and denies humanitarian aid. to Palestinian citizens,” the OMB said in a statement.

“Israel is at war, fighting for its right to exist, while our brave men and women in uniform are in danger at his command to deter Iran,” Johnson said of the veto threat.

Support for Israel has generally been strong across both parties, and the Jewish state is typically one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid, receiving at least $3.8 billion annually.

And aid to the US ally is needed after 1,200 Israelis were killed in Hamas’ attack, and some 27,000 Palestinians were killed by Israel in response, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, to the launch of a war in the Gaza Strip.

It comes after reports that Biden is ‘very suspicious’ of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even calling him a ‘bad guy’.

The White House strongly denied the statements.

“The president has not said that, and he would not,” Biden’s spokesman told Politico, adding that Biden and Netanyahu have “a decades-long relationship that is respectful in public and private.”

These revelations come shortly after it was reported that Biden had not spoken to Netanyahu in a month as the president’s patience was reportedly running out with the non-stop bombing of Gaza.

The two reportedly last spoke on December 23, when Netanyahu rejected Biden’s request for Israel to release Palestinian tax revenues, and an angry Biden ended the phone call saying “this conversation is over.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen told Axios: “At every point, Netanyahu has given Biden the finger. They argue for the Netanyahu coalition, but get a slap in the face again and again.”

The long period of silence is unusual as the pair have spoken almost every other day since October.