On Tuesday (2/6/2024), members of the United States Congress voted to reject a proposed $17.6 billion aid package for Israel, equivalent to Rp276 trillion. Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives called the Israeli aid bill a "very clear and cynical effort" to undermine a larger package.
The Israeli bill emerged as the White House leaned towards providing $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and $20 billion to Israel, while also allocating new funds for US border security, rather than solely aiding one party.
"Unfortunately, the standalone legislation introduced by the Republican Party in the House over the weekend, without notice or consultation, was not brought forward in good faith," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a letter to his colleagues, as quoted by AFP.
The Republican Party in the House initially scheduled the vote after the Democratic-led Senate released a bipartisan bill combining billions of dollars for Israel and Ukraine. However, support for the $118 billion aid package waned, as former President Donald Trump pressured Republicans not to give legislative victories to President Joe Biden ahead of the upcoming November elections.
A total of 167 Democratic members voted against the bill after Biden threatened to veto it, as he was angered by the legislation's apparent aim to undermine a larger package agreed upon after months of negotiations with bipartisan senatorial groups.
The standalone bill was also opposed by 13 Republican members because it did not include budget offsets, which conservatives have pushed for in every new spending proposal.
One of Johnson's first actions when he took office in the fall was to introduce a bill to the House that would provide $14.3 billion to Israel. However, this included significant cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, which was opposed by Biden.