The White House said Monday it would not support a stand-alone bill only providing aid to Israel in the wake of Iran’s recent attack, urging the House to pass a national security supplemental that included assistance for Ukraine, Israel and other allies.
“We are opposed to a stand-alone bill that would just work on Israel, as we’ve seen proposed. We would oppose a stand-alone bill, yes,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday the House would vote in the coming days on aid for Israel after it was the target of a drone and missile attack launched Saturday by Iran.
“House Republicans and the Republican Party understand the necessity of standing with Israel,” Johnson said on Fox News. “We’re going to try again this week, and the details of that package are being put together. Right now, we’re looking at the options and all these supplemental issues.”
The House had previously attempted to pass a stand-alone bill with aid for Israel in its fight against Hamas, but the effort failed to garner enough support.
The White House has been for weeks urging the House to pass the $95 billion national security supplemental that made it through the Senate with bipartisan support. That bill contained aid for Ukraine and Israel, as well as U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific.
Kirby on Monday stressed the urgency of the situation as Ukraine faces headwinds in its fight against Russia and after Israel came under attack from Iran.
“Time is not on anyone’s side here in either case, so they need to move quickly on this,” Kirby said. “And the best way to get that aid into the hands of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and into the hands of the Ukrainian solders is to pass that bipartisan bill that the Senate passed.”