White House Says It Will Veto Israel-only Aid Package Passed by House

Joe Biden and Democrats have been hammering Republicans to get back to work to pass an aid package for Israel.

Well, after Speaker Johnson (R-LA) was elected, that is exactly what they did.

Now, however, Biden says he will veto the legislation if it hits his desk because he does not like the way the package was put together.

Not Doing It

One thing Johnson vowed to do was pass single-issue spending bills so the American people could see exactly where their money was going.

He also vowed to do his best not to add to the deficit and our national debt.

So, when this legislation was written by Rep. Granger (R-TX), she pulled the money from funds that were not yet used in the Inflation Reduction Act.

From the roughly $80 billion that had been set aside for the IRS, they are pulling $14.3 to give Israel aid, but the White House says that is a non-starter.

Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby stated, "The president would veto an only-Israel bill. I think that we've made that clear.”

He added, "I think in our statement of administration policy, we laid out very clearly why we wouldn't want to do that and why we think that the things we've asked for in the supplemental [are] important.”

The White House also released a statement:

"As demonstrated by the President’s recent supplemental funding request, the Administration strongly supports providing resources for key national security priorities, including aid for our ally Israel as it defends itself against Hamas terrorists. But rather than putting forward a package that strengthens American national security in a bipartisan way, the bill fails to meet the urgency of the moment by deepening our divides and severely eroding historic bipartisan support for Israel’s security.

"Denying humanitarian assistance to two million Palestinian civilians, the majority of them women and children, would be a grave mistake. A deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza will also undercut Israel’s security and regional stability. We have a moral imperative to help those in need. Helping Palestinian civilians in need is also in Israel’s national security interest.”

So, if this bill makes it through the Senate, Biden is now saying he would be willing to veto bipartisan legislation solely to ensure the IRS, an agency that many of us would love to see abolished, gets its money.

You tell me who has their priorities screwed up.