This was going to be a problem the second that Joe Biden gave his speech tying the aid funding of Israel and Ukraine together. The House GOP, under new Speaker Mike Johnson, is putting forward a standalone bill for Israel. Chuck Schumer is now tantruming, saying he won’t even consider it unless ALLLLLLL the things get added back in.

Speaker Johnson’s Israel aid bill is actually quite a nifty piece of political maneuvering. Obviously, the aid bill to Israel has to be passed, and the majority of the House supports it (other than the Hamas Caucus, also known as The Squad). However, since Biden wanted all sorts of extras thrown in, and lumped aid to Ukraine in the same bill as aid to Israel, Johnson severed the Israel aid out as a standalone, and offered up cutting the increased IRS budget in order to pay for that aid.

House Republicans have rolled out a bill giving $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, while cutting into cash President Joe Biden allocated toward the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last year.

The 13-page bill released on Monday would completely offset the foreign aid by rescinding those funds from the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year. Specifically, it targets some of the $80 billion the package gave to the IRS.

The new Speaker is expected to hold a vote on the Israel aid bill on Thursday.

It will likely put Democrats in a tough spot between the political fallout of rejecting Israel aid and the bill’s removal of funds from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

The bill puts Johnson at odds with the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, both of which are pushing for Israel aid to be tied with dollars for Ukraine’s defense against Russia.

Yes, that does put the Democrats in quite a sticky situation. What a shame. The bill has already passed a procedural vote, 213 to 200, and still plans on holding a floor vote later today. House Democrats are whining loudly, because they want to send the aid, but they want to just spend ALLLLLL the money and then figure out later how to pay the bills. For far too many of them, their support is conditional.

At a closed-door meeting in the Capitol complex Thursday morning, House Democratic leaders urged their members to oppose the package when it hits the floor later in the day, citing the IRS cuts and the absence of additional funding for Ukraine and humanitarian aid for Gaza.

“I’m a hot no,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), a prominent Jewish Democrat. “It’s trying to be some sort of a ‘gotcha,’ that somehow you’re not for Israel if you vote against it. Which is absolutely ridiculous.”

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), the senior Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, was among the lawmakers who addressed the caucus Thursday morning. Emerging from the meeting, he warned that requiring offsets for emergency aid would set a dangerous precedent that could hobble Congress’s ability to help allies in times of crisis.

Tapping IRS funds, he added, has the additional disadvantage of piling billions of dollars onto the federal debt.

Not all Democrats, however, are expected to vote against the legislation when it hits the floor. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), for one, has hammered GOP leaders for pushing an “outrageous” proposal designed to squeeze Democrats into sacrificing one pet policy in favor of another. But he also plans to vote yes as a show of solidarity with Israel.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), also a vocal Israel supporter, is another Democrat who might back the bill despite his opposition to the Republicans’ tactics. He said Thursday morning that he remains undecided. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), another prominent Jewish lawmaker, declined to say how she’ll land.

Most Democrats, though, made clear their intention to oppose the bill, even as they stressed their support for helping Israel in the wake of last month’s deadly attacks by Hamas.

And the House GOP is most definitely united and putting the screws to their Democrat counterparts.

During a press conference on Thursday, new House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) emphasized he does not favor an Israel assistance package that does not include federal spending cuts.

“We are in dire straits as a nation,” Johnson said. He stressed that tackling the $33.7 trillion national debt is a top priority, declaring, “We want to protect and help and assist our friend Israel, but we have to keep our own house in order as well.” Johnson also said he has made it “very clear” to the Biden administration and Senate Republicans that “we’re going to do this in a responsible manner.”

The speaker also vowed that Ukraine will “come next” and suggested it could be paired with border security. Johnson said he believes a bipartisan agreement can be reached on those issues.

Well, Chuck Schumer is most definitely taking his marching orders from the White House.

Let me be clear: The Senate will not take up the House GOP's deeply flawed proposal

Instead we will work on our own bipartisan emergency aid package that includes funding for aid to Israel, Ukraine, humanitarian aid including for Gaza, and competition with the Chinese Government

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 2, 2023

I’m sorry, how is the Biden administration planning on providing “humanitarian funding” to Gaza? Are they just going to drop dollar bills from the sky? That would likely be more effective than giving it to the United Nations, who will promptly be robbed by Hamas, or any other aid organization. And we all know the reason that Biden is obssessed with Ukraine is because its his sole foriegn policy “success,” and he is determined to keep that gravy train going. Not to mention the fact that Hunter got a whole lot of Ukrainian money once upon a time.

The White House is currently backing Schumer up, saying that even if an Israel-only aid bill made it to the White House, Biden would veto it.

BREAKING: John Kirby confirms Biden "would VETO an Israel-only bill" pic.twitter.com/nq7Ddcwzez

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 2, 2023

While the press will whine, right along with Democrats, because they want the entire aid sandwich stuffed to the gills with pork, this is a politically smart move for Republicans. It looks like they will get bipartisan support in the House, despite how much the House Democrats don’t like the bill. And bipartisan support undermines the entire media argument that Mike Johnson is some kind of Republican right-wing rogue who isn’t working across the aisle. It also puts the burden on a narrowly divided Senate, where certainly some Democrat senators (like John Fetterman, who has shockingly been the most staunch supporter of Israel since the Hamas invasion and massacre) would back the Israel-only bill. It makes Chuck Schumer, as Senate Majority Leader, the person holding up the aid bill. The ball will be squarely in his court. The White House might have his back right now, but when the House GOP refuses to pass a crap sandwich in order to throw aid money around to Gaza, that Israel-only bill will still be sitting there. And if the Biden White House figures out that the House GOP isn’t going to cave (and they had BETTER NOT), then the White House is going to have to give Schumer new marching orders.

Let’s see how this aid vote turns out, but it’s looking to be a smart play by the House GOP under its new Speaker of the House – and it is making Democrats squirm.

UPDATE 5:52 PM ET
The standalone bill for aid to Israel has passed with a BIPARTISAN vote.

Applause on the GOP side — a dozen Dems crossover and vote for the Israel aid bill with House Rs pic.twitter.com/RlO3asODLR

— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) November 2, 2023

BREAKING: The House of Representatives just passed standalone funding for Israel — paid for with cuts to Biden's IRS shakedown on the middle class.

Biden has pledged to veto the bipartisan bill if it reaches his desk. pic.twitter.com/EJq4rf9fSb

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 2, 2023

The two “no” votes on the Republican side were Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Thomas Massie (no surprises there).

Chuck Schumer, I do believe the ball is in your court. The House has called the bluff.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click