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The Republicans have unveiled a bill to provide $14.3 billion in emergency aid to Israel in exchange for cutting the same amount from the IRS's budget.
The House Rules Committee is expected to take up the bill on Wednesday (November 1) and could bring it to the floor of the House for a vote by the end of the week.
If the bill does pass the House, it is likely dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Democrats blasted the GOP for making emergency aid for Israel a partisan issue.
"Politicizing our national security interests is a nonstarter," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. "Demanding offsets for meeting core national security needs of the United States—like supporting Israel and defending Ukraine from atrocities and Russian imperialism—would be a break with the normal, bipartisan process and could have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead."
Last week, President Joe Biden requested the House pass a bill to provide $105 billion in emergency funding for Israel and Ukraine. The bill also included humanitarian aid for people living in Gaza, money for additional border agents, and aid to Taiwan.
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected the bill and said he would bring a stand-alone bill for aid to Israel. He defended tying the funding to cuts at the IRS.
"I understand their priority is to bulk up the IRS, but I think if you put this to the American people and they weigh the two needs, I think they're going to say standing with Israel and protecting the innocent over there is in our national interest and is a more immediate need than IRS agents," Johnson told Fox News.