Thirteen Democrats and one Republican voted against a resolution to condemn Iran for its missile strikes on Israel last weekend. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., told DailyMail.com she voted against the resolution because it did not condemn Israel’s strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria. ‘There were attacks on both sides,’ she said. ‘So the retaliatory attack from Iran, on Israel, we condemn that.’
‘But we also condemn the attack from the Israeli military on the Iranian embassy complex that also that killed people. So we can’t have either one,’ the progressive congresswoman went on. ‘So this was just a Republican messaging deal that furthers us to get closer to being on the brink of war.’ Israel struck Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1, taking out Iran’s top commander, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and other high-level military officials. Iran responded with 300 missiles and drones, which Israel largely intercepted with U.S. help, in its first-ever direct attack on Israel.
Israel has long targeted Iran’s military installations in Syria and those of its proxies, but the April 1 attack was the first time Israel hit the vast embassy compound itself. Bush was joined in her no vote by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, Ky., and other progressives like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, N.Y., Ilhan Omar, Minn., Rashida Tlaib, Mich., and Jamaal Bowman, N.Y. Libertarian-minded Massie often opposes such messaging bills.
Speaker Mike Johnson put 17 new bills on the House floor schedule after Iran launched over 300 drone and missile attacks on Israel over the weekend – and rush-ordered a package that will give billions in aid to Israel along with Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. The slew of resolutions require the U.S. to ‘fully implement’ sanctions on Iran and make sure there aren’t any loopholes, restrict Iranian imports and crack down on financial transactions between the U.S. and Iran and sanction Chinese companies that buy oil from Iran. The progressive Squad members have voted against many of the resolutions that hit the floor this week.
Republicans used it to accuse them of sympathizing with Iran as Congress scrambles to get a foreign aid package over the finish line and provide support for the top U.S. ally. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told DailyMail.com that the Squad Democrats are embracing Iran’s ‘murderous regime.’ ‘It’s clear to me, the woke Socialist Squad has fully embraced the murderous regime in #Iran — the world’s most nefarious State Sponsor of Terrorism and one of the most cynical Human Right violators,’ he said. Another bill to ensure humanitarian aid is not used to fund Iran-backed terrorism passed overwhelmingly 408-13.
Bhavini Patel, a more moderate Democrat candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania , slammed her primary opponent Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., for voting against the humanitarian aid bill. She called it an ‘alarming – and telling – vote’ by the progressive in a post to X. Another of the bills declared the phrase ‘from the river to the sea,’ controversially used by Tlaib, D-Mich., to be anti-Semitic. GOP Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., slammed votes against this particular bill. ‘You can’t get more antisemitic than endorsing calls for the total annihilation of Israel,’ he said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
‘Once again, the Democrat Party has solidified its position as the pro-terrorist party.’ Johnson pushed off plans for ‘appliance week,’ to make room for the anti-Iran measures. The House was expected to vote on a series of messaging measures against the Biden administration’s regulations on home appliances like gas stoves. Johnson is also forging ahead with plans to pass separate foreign aid bills for Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific that he could lose his job over. The total cost of the plan is $95 billion.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has already filed a motion to vacate that she could call for a vote at any moment. Massie signed on to the effort after Johnson announced the foreign aid plan. In an olive branch to conservative hardliners, Johnson agreed to bring a separate border bill to the floor too. Israel has deemed Iran’s 350-missile attack a ‘declaration of war,’ though it said 99 percent of the missiles were intercepted. The attack was in response to Israel’s drone strike in Syria that killed 12 Iranians, including two top generals.
Meanwhile, President Biden is facing mounting pressure to contain the crisis, with defense experts claiming the president has allowed the conflict in Gaza to spread and that the expanding battle lines risk pulling in allies including the US. Donald Trump last night accused Biden of ‘weakness and incompetence’ as he railed against his election rival for failing to address the American public following the attack by Tehran, its first-ever direct assault on Israel. IDF spokesman Peter Lerner on Monday morning confirmed that there would be retaliation from Israel, stating that this could involve ‘a strike or no strike.’ He explained that military top brass had submitted ‘a wide range of options’ and that there are ‘a lot of different scenarios’ on the table.
The Israeli government will ‘decide on the steps forward’ as early as Monday or within the coming days, Lerner told reporters. Johnson has signaled that he wants to get foreign aid for both Israel and Ukraine across the finish line. But he hasn’t said whether that will consist of one vote or multiple. Appearing with Johnson on Friday, Trump said he was ‘taking a look’ at Ukraine aid, but favored it in the form of a loan rather than a direct grant. Johnson and his top brass have discussed using the Lend-Lease Act, which would require Ukraine to give back any military equipment that is not destroyed after a certain time frame, and the REPO Act, which would seize Russian assets that have been frozen across the globe for Ukraine.
But a motion to vacate has loomed over Johnson’s head since Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene launched the bid to oust him last month. The Georgia Republican is a staunch opponent of Ukraine aid and has already threatened to try to boot Johnson if he brings it to the floor. With Republicans’ razor-thin majority, Johnson can only afford to lose three Republicans and keep his job. The Senate-passed bill included both humanitarian and military aid: $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel in its war against Hamas and $4.83 billion to support partners in the Indo-Pacific. Johnson suggested he would not be putting the Senate bill on the House floor, adding military-only aid is ‘more palatable’ to members.
‘No American taxpayer should be tasked with propping up the pension system of the nation of Ukraine.’ Any foreign aid bill would likely have to come to the House floor under suspension of the rules, meaning it would need a two-thirds majority vote to pass. The bill would lose a number of Democrats who would oppose further aid to Israel without humanitarian conditions. It would lose a number of Republicans who outright oppose Ukraine aid – potentially jeopardizing its chances of passing. But Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries insisted the bill would pass even under suspension – he would put up enough Democratic votes. ‘I believe that there are a sufficient number of votes to make sure that the national security bill makes it over the legislative finish line,’ Jeffries said.
Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk