WASHINGTON – The Republican-led government Home approved a bill Thursday that would restrict the president’s ability to withhold arms transfers to Israel, in a vote that drew attention to the divided Democratic caucus. the war in Gaza.
The bill passed the House 224-187. Sixteen Democrats voted in favor, including Thomas Suozzi of New York, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. Only three Republicans opposed it.
The vote was largely symbolic – the bill is not expected to pass on the other side of the Capitol. Senate Majority Leader Chuck SchumerDN.Y., indicated that he is dead on arrival, saying that the measure “is not going anywhere.”
The passage of the Israel Security Assistance Support Act, which would prevent federal funds from being used to withhold defense services or weapons from Israel, comes shortly after the White House interrupted a shipment of weapons for the US ally.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., applauded the bill’s passage while criticizing the Biden administration’s withholding of certain weapons from Israel, including 2,000-pound bombs and 500-pound bombs.
“The Biden administration’s decision to withhold weapons is catastrophic and goes directly against the will of Congress,” Johnson said in a statement.
He added that the law’s passage sends “a clear message of solidarity and support for Israel” and called for “the urgent delivery of defense weapons to our most important ally in the Middle East.”
President Joe Biden said in a interview with CNN last week that the US would not supply certain weapons to Israel if its military invaded the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. He said in the interview that Israel used 2,000-pound bombs to kill Palestinian civilians.
The White House emphasized its opposition to the GOP bill on Tuesday, arguing in a declaration that it would “undermine the President’s ability to execute an effective foreign policy.” The statement also said that Biden would veto the measure if it reached his desk.
After the vote, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson called the bill a “deliberate distortion” of Biden’s policy, saying the legislation was “intended to score political points, not help Israel.”
“President Biden will not take second place to anyone in his support for Israel and will ensure that Israel has everything it needs to defeat Hamas,” Watson said in a statement. “President Biden also strongly advocates protecting innocent civilians.”
Outside the Capitol, a group of about 20 pro-Palestinian congressional staffers demonstrated before the House vote, calling on Biden and Congress to “immediately end U.S. support for Israel’s attack on Gaza civilians,” said Samantha Elghanayan, a staffer for Rep. Ro Khanna, told NBC News.
Protests by congressional staffers are relatively rare, and Elghanayan noted that she was protesting in her free time, not as part of her job.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called for the employees to be fired.
“They have nothing to do with taking taxpayer money, which is what they do when they come during work hours to protest, and waste that taxpayer money to express their opinion that, frankly, no one asked them to do,” he said. he.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
