WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., vowed on Sunday to move forward with a $14.5 billion Israel aid package when the House returns later this week. The bill would be separate from any legislation on aid to Ukraine, setting up a showdown within the Republican party over how to respond to the wars in Israel and Ukraine.

What You Need To Know

  • House Republicans are moving ahead with a standalone aid bill for Israel

  • President Biden is calling for a much larger package that also includes aid for Ukraine

  • Republicans are split over whether to package the aid together

President Joe Biden is calling for Congress to approve $106 billion in supplemental appropriations for four main issues: defense for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and immigration enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Discontent has been growing among some conservatives, however, over sending additional aid to Ukraine, leading to calls to separate the aid packages. Johnson said Friday he still supported Ukraine’s war effort against Russia but wanted to limit government spending.

That position puts Johnson at odds with not just the White House and Democrats in both chambers, but also Senate Republican leadership.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY., has said he sees both the wars in Israel and Ukraine as part of a larger global threat, and that an aid package should include funding to help both countries defend themselves.

McConnell appeared Monday at the University of Louisville alongside Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, to again commit to funding the war effort against Russia.

“Loud voices on the both sides of the aisle are suggesting that American leadership somehow isn’t worth the cost,” he said. “Some say our support for Ukraine comes at the expense of more important priorities. But as I said every time I got the chance, this is a false choice.”

In addition, a bifurcated bill is unlikely to pass the Democratic-majority Senate. McConnell has warned not combining the funding could further delay passing a budget and lead to a government shutdown.

McConnell is facing further opposition from within his own Senate conference. A group of four GOP senators, including Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, introduced a standalone aid package to Israel last Thursday.

“I personally would like to have a separate debate on Ukraine, on Taiwan, on the border, and on Israel. Those are four separate buckets of priorities that had been collapsed into this massive supplemental,” Vance told Spectrum News. “There's a lot of consensus, I think, among my Republican colleagues, that we should actually have a separate debate, even those who disagree with me on the question of whether we should fund Ukraine.”

Vance said he would not support more Ukraine aid.

“If we give them $100 billion, a lot of a lot more people may die, you're going to continue to destabilize the region, rising fuel costs, rising food costs that come from this never-ending conflict,” he said.

In addition to separating Ukraine funding from the president’s aid request for Israel, Johnson also proposed any new aid for Israel be offset by corresponding budget cuts.

The first week of the Johnson-led House comes as government funding is set to run out next month. The funding package request sets up an immediate test of Johnson’s ability to move appropriation bills and aid to Israel.