House Republicans are expected to send a bill to the floor Wednesday or Thursday that would force the Biden administration to continue weapons transfers to Israel.

However, the White House has pledged that President Joe Biden would veto the legislation, should it get to his desk.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., would condemn the Biden administration’s decision to recently pause an arms shipment to Israel. It also calls on the administration to allow previously approved weapons transfers to proceed quickly, urges the executive branch to use all congressionally approved aid for Israel as intended and states that Congress stands with Israel in its war against Hamas.

“President Biden's decision to pause some of the security aid just passed overwhelmingly by Congress sends a terrible message to our allies and is counterproductive to the goals of maximizing pressure on Hamas to release hostages and surrender,” Calvert wrote Monday on X, formerly Twitter. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday that one shipment of heavy bombs to Israel was intentionally delayed. That same day, President Joe Biden threatened to cut off U.S.-supplied offensive weapons to Israel if it launches an all-out assault on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. 

The president cited the large number of civilians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said in an interview with CNN. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically.”

More than 1 million Palestinians had been sheltering in Rafah. UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency in Gaza, estimated Monday that more than 360,000 have fled the city in recent days.

Republican lawmakers quickly attacked Biden, accusing him of turning his back on longtime ally Israel and helping Hamas in the war.

“Joe Biden's de facto position is for a Hamas victory over Israel,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a news conference Thursday.

The Biden administration further angered Republicans by releasing a report Friday that said there is “reasonable” evidence to conclude Israel’s use of U.S.-provided arms violated international law protecting civilians but that wartime conditions prevented officials from conclusively linking specific American weapons to individual attacks by Israel in Gaza.

The legislation would also put House Democrats on the record about their support for Israel.

While some Democrats have praised Biden for trying to prevent future civilian deaths by drawing a red line with Israel, others in his party have criticized the president.

Spearheaded by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., 26 House Democrats sent a letter to national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday saying they are “deeply concerned about the message” Biden is sending to Hamas and other Iran-backed proxy groups by withholding weapons from Israel.

“With democracy under assault around the world, we cannot undermine our ally Israel, especially in her greatest hour of need,” the Democrats wrote. 

“We have a duty to continue to equip Israel with the resources she needs to defend herself and crush the terrorists who also seek to do America harm,” they continued. 

With Republicans united in support and some Democrats likely to back it, the legislation is expected to clear the House. It, however, is unlikely to receive a vote in the Democratic-led Senate.

Asked about the bill Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the president’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives.”

She added the Biden administration plans to “spend every last cent appropriated consistent with legal obligations.”

In a statement published Tuesday by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Biden administration noted its strong opposition to the bill, calling it "a misguided reaction to a deliberate distortion of the administration’s approach to Israel," a direct response to comments like those of Sen. Cotton. The White House added that the bill "could lead to spiraling unintended consequences" that would prevent the U.S. from pivoting on security assistance when needed, even if the U.S. and Israel were in agreement on necessary changes.

The message was punctuated with a promise: Should the bill pass both chambers of Congress and be presented to Biden, the president would strike it down with his veto.