The House of Representatives on Tuesday sank a $17 billion standalone Israel aid bill unveiled over the weekend by House Speaker Mike Johnson in a bipartisan 250-180 vote.

The bill's defeat -- another devastating setback for House Republicans immediately after their vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed -- came hours after House Democratic leadership said they would oppose the bill, accusing the GOP of undermining a bipartisan Senate bill that would aid not only the Middle Eastern country in its war against Hamas, but would also fund Ukraine and implement sweeping policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The vote also came after Senate Republicans declared that bipartisan bill all but dead. 

What You Need To Know

  • The House of Representatives on Tuesday sank a $17 billion standalone Israel aid bill unveiled over the weekend by House Speaker Mike Johnson in a bipartisan 250-180 vote

  • The $17.6 billion bill, unveiled on Saturday, contained no spending offsets — a previous House GOP-backed bill would have tied Israel aid to cuts to IRS enforcement funding — and $3.3 billion for current U.S. military operations in the region

  • House Democratic leadership on Tuesday came out against the bill, accusing the GOP of undermining a bipartisan Senate bill that would aid not only the Middle Eastern country in its war against Hamas, but would also fund Ukraine and implement sweeping policy changes at the U.S.-Mexico border

  • President Joe Biden has already threatened to veto the standalone Israel aid bill, urging lawmakers to pass the bipartisan bill

“We are prepared to support any serious, bipartisan effort in connection with the special relationship between the United States and Israel, our closest ally in the Middle East,” wrote House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. “Unfortunately, the standalone legislation introduced by House Republicans over the weekend, at the eleventh hour without notice or consultation, is not being offered in good faith.”

Instead, the Democrats charged, the bill is “a nakedly obvious and cynical attempt by MAGA extremists to undermine the possibility of a comprehensive, bipartisan funding package that addresses America’s national security challenges in the Middle East, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region and throughout the world.”

The $17.6 billion bill, unveiled on Saturday, contains no spending offsets — a previous House GOP-backed bill would have tied Israel aid to cuts to IRS enforcement funding — and $3.3 billion for current U.S. military operations in the region.

The statement puts the House Democratic conference in line with the position of the Biden administration, which threatened to veto the measure on Monday and urged lawmakers to instead take up the bipartisan Senate bill.

“The Administration spent months working with a bipartisan group of Senators to reach a national security agreement that secures the border and provides support for the people of Ukraine and Israel, while also providing much-needed humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by conflicts around the world,” the Biden administration said in a statement. “Instead of working in good faith to address the most pressing national security challenges, this bill is another cynical political maneuver.”

“The security of Israel should be sacred, not a political game,” the statement continues. “The Administration strongly opposes this ploy which does nothing to secure the border, does nothing to help the people of Ukraine defend themselves against Putin’s aggression, fails to support the security of American synagogues, mosques, and vulnerable places of worship, and denies humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom are women and children.”

The bill came out one day before a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a $118 billion measure that would have provided roughly $60 billion in aid for Ukraine as it continues to repel Russia’s invasion, $14 billion for Israel as it continues its fight against Hamas and nearly $5 billion for Indo-Pacific allies, including Taiwan, to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

On the border security front, it would implement tougher standards for the asylum system, limits how presidential administrations can utilize parole to let migrants into the country and introduces an expulsion authority if border encounters reach a certain number. It also provides more than $20 billion in funding for immigration enforcement, which would allow the hiring of more Border Patrol agents, the addition of immigration judges to evaluate asylum claims and increased fentanyl detection, and would provide a pathway to residency — and eventually citizenship — for the nearly 76,000 Afghan allies who worked with U.S. troops during the war in Afghanistan.

But despite the fact that one of the key negotiators on the bill was Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, a conservative Republican lawmaker, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declared the bill all but dead. The Kentucky Republican said at a GOP leadership press conference earlier Tuesday that due to House GOP opposition, "we have no real chance here to make a law."