Johnson rips Biden’s threat to veto $17B Israel aid bill as ‘act of betrayal’

 House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attacked President Biden on Monday evening after the White House threatened to veto House Republicans' stand-alone Israel aid bill.

"The president's threat of a veto is an act of betrayal," Johnson said in a statement.

"Israel is at war, fighting for its right to exist, while our brave men and women in uniform are in harm's way on its orders to stop Iran. By threatening to veto aid to Israel and our military forces, the President "Biden is giving up on our ally in our time of greatest need. I urge Israel's friends and Iran's adversaries to call the President's bluff and pass this clean aid package."

Johnson announced over the weekend that he intends to pass legislation to send $17.6 billion to Israel as it fights its war against Hamas. A vote on it, expected later Tuesday, will be fast-tracked under a suspension of House rules — meaning it will clear a procedural hurdle that must be passed by two-thirds of the House rather than a simple majority. The rule in exchange for increasing the threshold is known as a vote. ,

The White House condemned the bill as a "cynical political maneuver" made in response to Senate bipartisan negotiations over security funding and border policy.

"The administration spent months working with a bipartisan group of senators to reach a national security agreement that secures the border and provides assistance to the people of Ukraine and Israel, as well as those affected by conflicts around the world. “It also provides much-needed humanitarian assistance to civilians.” said a statement from the Office of Management and Budget.

"Instead of working in good faith to address the most serious national security challenges, this bill is yet another cynical political maneuver. Israel's security must be sacred, not a political game. The Administration strongly opposes this move that Does nothing to secure the border, does nothing to help defend the people of Ukraine against [Russian President Vladimir Putin's] aggression, does nothing to support the security of American synagogues, mosques and vulnerable places of worship. fails, and denies humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom are women and children."

One of Johnson's first acts as speaker was to table a $14.3 billion Israel aid bill, but the funding would have been offset by money Biden allocated to the IRS.

That bill passed the House with some Democratic support, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. introduced it as a nonstarter.

"In several statements during and after the House debate, Democrats made clear that their primary objection to the original House bill was over its offsets," Johnson wrote Saturday. “The Senate will no longer have any excuse against swiftly passing this vital support for our ally, no matter how misguided.”