Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) holds a news conference following a caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on January 30, 2024 in Washington, DC.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Saturday announced an Israel-only funding package to be voted on next week, a huge step in the deadlocked negotiations over emergency aid that President Joe Biden initially proposed in October.
“Next week, we will take up and pass a clean, standalone Israel supplemental package,” the speaker wrote in a “Dear Friends” letter.
The bill includes $17.6 billion for Israel’s military and U.S. military forces in the region as the war with Hamas in Gaza continues. If approved, this funding would add to the $14.3 billion that the House passed for Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
This bill separates aid to Israel from Ukraine, Taiwan and the U.S. southern border, all of which were linked in Biden’s original $105 billion aid proposal. But disagreements over how to address the U.S. border and whether to fund Ukraine’s defense against Russia stalled the passage of Biden’s October aid package.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.