(Washington) Republicans adopted a large package for Israel in the US House of Representatives on Thursday, standing up to President Biden who is demanding that this aid go hand in hand with funds for Gaza, Ukraine, and partners in Asia.
The conservatives’ measure, however, has very little chance of succeeding, the Democratic leader having already threatened to veto the text.
The American Congress, finally functional with its new president, is split in two on the type of support to provide to its allies abroad.
Democrats and Republicans alike want to immediately adopt military aid for Israel, a long-time partner of the United States, at war with Hamas.
However, things get complicated when it comes to Ukraine.
Washington is the largest provider of military aid to Kyiv, having committed tens of billions of dollars since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
But Joe Biden’s promise to continue to financially support Ukraine, reiterated during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington in September, is in jeopardy.
Risk of fatigue
In the American Congress, there is on one side the House of Representatives, dominated by conservatives and where a handful of right-wing elected officials are calling for an immediate end to aid to Kyiv. This institution was plunged for three weeks into unprecedented paralysis, with a vacancy at the top, and its new president, Mike Johnson, is still trying to find his feet.
On the other hand, there is the Senate, with a Democratic majority and where the Republican opposition is mainly in favor of aid to Ukraine.
Aware of the risk of weariness among part of the American political class, Democratic President Joe Biden decided to combine his request for aid for Ukraine – more than 61 billion dollars – with that for Israel, around 14 billion.
Joe Biden also wants funds to stand up to China militarily by investing in submarines, and economically by competing with major Chinese projects in developing countries.
The 80-year-old Democrat also estimates that he would need a little more than 9 billion to respond to international humanitarian crises, including in the Gaza Strip.
All for a total of nearly $106 billion.
“Don’t waste a minute”
PHOTO J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson
The Republican leadership in the House does not see it that way and defied the American president by adopting at the beginning of the evening an envelope intended only for Israel. A handful of Democrats joined them.
To finance this envelope, the conservatives plan to draw funds from Joe Biden’s major plan on climate and infrastructure adopted last year. The White House, unsurprisingly, is against it. So does the Senate.
“We cannot waste a minute to provide Israel with the aid it needs,” the new president, Mike Johnson, said before the vote, without making any mention of humanitarian funds for Gaza.
So, the Republican project is “stillborn”, retorted a White House spokesperson, John Kirby. “It is inconceivable that anyone would think that we do not need additional funds to help get water, food and medicine to these people,” he said.
The standoff around these envelopes – which says a lot about American questions about its role as world policeman – promises to be tough.
President Mike Johnson has already considered that measures of support for other allies of the United States, including Ukraine, should be the subject of further discussions.
“There are things we can and must do around the world, but we must first address what is happening in our own home,” he argued.