Florida Democrat says he’ll vote for Israel aid bill despite IRS cuts: ‘I am not going to take the bait’

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said he’ll cast his vote for the House GOP-led Israel aid bill, despite the proposed legislation having large cuts to the Internal Revenue Service. 

“Foreign Policy and National Security being conducted as a future political mailer. ‘You chose the IRS over Israel.’ I am not going to take the bait,” Moskowitz wrote Monday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “There are American Hostages. This is not a game.” 

The Florida congressman, who is serving his first term in Congress, signaled his support for the bill in a response to Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman’s post on the proposed legislation. 

When Sherman asked if he would vote “yes” on the bill, Moskowitz, who is Jewish, gave an emphatic response.

“Damn straight. A political mailer as policy put forward by unserious people. Was this in the speakers Bible? To choose between Israel and the IRS,” Moskowitz wrote in his response.

“This is dead in the Senate. It violates Republicans single subject spending rule. It adds to the deficit. I will support Israel.” 

Moskowitz’s response differs from his colleague Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-Fla.) statement on the matter, in which she accused House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of playing “political games” and called the measure “offensive.”

“We cannot afford to politicize the battle against Hamas and Iran, giving ammunition to anti-Israel extremists around the world,” Schultz, who is Jewish, said in her statement. “When your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t haggle over the price of the garden hose. Speaker Johnson’s political games are offensive to all pro-Israel Americans, and I hope he reverses course immediately.”

The House Republicans unveiled Monday a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel, a package that signals the U.S.’s support for the Middle Eastern ally amid its war with Hamas. 

The proposed legislation, the first under the leadership of Johnson, includes major cuts to the IRS. It would affect funds included in the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Biden last year. The legislation comes a week after the House passed a resolution expressing support for Israel and condemning Hamas’s attack earlier this month.

It’s been three weeks since Hamas’s surprise attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people in Israel. About 200 others were taken hostage by the militant group. 

In response, Israel has launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of more than 8,000 people, the majority of which are women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.