The White House said Monday it would not support a standalone bill that only provided aid to Israel after Iran’s recent attack, urging the House to pass a national security supplement that included assistance to Ukraine, Israel and other allies.
“We oppose an independent bill that would only work in Israel, as we have seen proposed. We would oppose a standalone bill, yes,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that the House would vote in the coming days on aid to Israel after it was the target of a drone and missile attack launched Saturday by Iran.
“House Republicans and the Republican Party understand the need to support Israel,” Johnson said on Fox News. “We will try again this week and the details of this package are being worked out. We are currently looking at the options and all these complementary issues.”
The House had previously tried to pass a stand-alone bill to help Israel in its fight against Hamas, but the effort failed to garner enough support.
The White House has for weeks been urging the House to approve the $95 billion national security supplement that passed the Senate with bipartisan support. That bill contained aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific.
Kirby on Monday emphasized the urgency of the situation as Ukraine faces headwinds in its fight against Russia and after Israel was attacked by Iran.
“Time is not on anyone’s side here in either case, so they need to act quickly on this,” Kirby said. “And the best way to put this aid in the hands of the IDF [Israel Defense Force] and in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers is the passage of the bipartisan bill that the Senate passed.”
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