Johnson: Biden may have had a ‘senior moment’ with comments on military aid to Israel

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he hoped President Biden was having a “senior moment” when he threatened to withhold weapons from Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went ahead with an invasion in Rafah, N.Y. south of Gaza.

Johnson, in a extensive interview with Politico — which will air in full on an upcoming episode of its “Playbook Deep Dive” podcast — suggested that Biden’s comments violated what the House speaker understood to be promises from the president to secure Johnson’s support for the relief package. emergency foreign aid of US$95 billion.

“I hope – I believe he’s off script,” Johnson said. “I don’t think that was something the team told him to say. I hope it’s an important moment, because that would be a big departure from what is supposed to be politics there.”

On whether he felt betrayed by Biden’s threat, he said: “I have to say yes, yes.”

His comments came after Biden warned in a CNN interview that he would delay sending offensive weapons to Israel, such as bombs and artillery shells, if Israeli forces launched an invasion of Rafah, drawing a clear line amid protests over the conflict in Gaza.

“I have made it clear that if they go to Rafah – they have not yet gone to Rafah – if they go to Rafah, I will not provide the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with this problem,” Biden said Wednesday night.

Johnson told Politico that Biden’s comments heightened his concerns about reports that the US had stopped sending heavy bombs to Israel.

“And my reaction honestly was, ‘Wow, that’s a complete change from what I’ve been told over the last few hours,’” Johnson said. “I mean, 24 hours ago it was confirmed to me by senior administration officials that the policy is very different from what he declared there. So hopefully it’s a senior moment.”

The House speaker said, however, that Biden administration officials assured him that reports of arms cuts were not accurate and did not violate Johnson’s agreement with the president.

“My concern is that we received news about this delay in the shipment of ammunition. And that was a big concern for us because I got commitments from senior administration officials before we approved the supplemental aid package for Israel that that wouldn’t happen,” Johnson told Politico.

He added that he was told “in writing and verbally” that “there has been no delay in delivering weapons to Israel because they are desperately needed.”

Johnson said the White House told him the delayed munitions were from “previous weapons tranches” and had “nothing to do with the supplemental package that you all approved.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

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