Israel and Iran take spotlight
- House committed to act on aid to Israel
- Speaker appears ready to include money or loan for Ukraine
- Did Friday meeting with Trump help Johnson?
- Senate expected to get Mayorkas impeachment from House
This past weekend the world watched as Iran launched hundreds of weapons towards Israel in response to the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Syria that killed several key Iranian generals. The Israeli iron dome air defenses, along with support from key Israeli allies including the US, knocked nearly all the incoming weapons out of the sky.
The world will be watching in the coming days how Israel responds to the Iranian attack. President Biden and the G-7 leaders have fully supported Israel but have also urged caution to avoid a wider war. The leaders seek a ceasefire in Gaza, a return of Hamas held hostages, and restraint by Israel towards Iran.
The Iranian attack on Israel will put a new focus on the US House as they continue to struggle with a pathway to approving military aid to both Israel and Ukraine. Mike Turner, the House Republican chair of the Intelligence Committee said on Sunday he believed there would be a House vote on money for both Israel and Ukraine, and that it would pass.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is in a difficult situation as a sizable group of conservative Republicans oppose supporting Ukraine. On Friday the Speaker went down to Mar-a-Lago to meet with former President Trump. Johnson needs his support both to fend off threats to his Speakership, and to get key legislation passed. The meeting, which preceded the Iranian attack on Israel, left open the possibility of the House supporting a package for both Israel and Ukraine, but both the Speaker and the former President have opposed the Senate bill making it necessary to pass legislation that has some difference from the Senate bill. One idea that has been mentioned by Trump is to make the money to Ukraine a loan and that change might allow for a positive vote in the House. The Speaker is also considering adding provisions that are on the Republican agenda such as action at the US Southern border or reversing the Biden order delaying new LNG export terminals.
If the House passes a bill that has any changes from the legislation that was approved by the Senate in February it will require a Senate vote on the House bill to get the legislation to the White House for the President’s signature.
The $95.3B Israel/Ukraine package passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 70 to 29, and the general consensus is that the Senate wants to see money flow to both Israel and Ukraine and will quickly pass whatever the House agrees to.
Bottom line is that with the Iranian attack on our key ally in the region geo-politics is going to dominate the news in DC this week.
Mayorkas impeachment
Last week the Senate thought they were going to get the House approved impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; however, the Senate Republicans asked Speaker Johnson to delay sending the message over to the Senate so that they could better organize their efforts to push for a full trial in the Senate of the impeached Secretary.
The vote in the House was strictly partisan with the final vote count being 214Yes to 213No. Senate Leader Schumer has not shown his cards on what exact strategy he will use to dispose of the House impeachment resolution, but he is confident he has the votes to move on quickly without a full-blown trial. No cabinet member has been impeached in over 100 years, as they are carrying out the policy of the President who appointed them. In this case it is a messaging measure designed to embarrass Democrats on the mess at the border which Republicans view as an issue that cuts their way as the November election approaches.
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