White House won't support bill to help Israel alone
The White House has announced that it opposes a separate bill to aid Israel without helping Ukraine.
Source: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's briefing
Details: She said that "we will not accept a stand-alone" Israel aid bill.
Jean-Pierre said that a separate bill would not help Israel and Ukraine. It would actually delay the necessary assistance.
She also called on the House of Representatives to pass a bill to provide US$95 billion in aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Earlier, during a briefing, National Security Spokesman John Kirby said that the White House "is opposed to a stand-alone bill that would just work on Israel and we’ve seen proposed".
Background:
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a statement Saturday that the House would change its legislative schedule this week to "consider legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable," but it's not yet clear what legislation that will be, or how drastically it might depart from the Senate-passed bill.
US Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, said that during a Sunday phone call between President Joe Biden and congressional leaders, a "consensus" was reached that Congress should act quickly to send aid to both Israel and Ukraine.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday that the House would "try again" to vote for military aid to Israel in response to Iran's large-scale attack. But he did not specify whether the package of support for Ukraine would be combined with the aid to Israel and would be voted on this week.
Hardline conservatives have warned Johnson against including funding for Ukraine in any aid package for Israel.
On Friday, Johnson discussed support for Ukraine with potential Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
After the meeting, Trump said he supported approving financial aid to Ukraine, but in the form of a loan.
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