Republicans will once again try to force President Biden to ship the 3,500 bombs to Israel that are being held up over concerns regarding their potential impact on the civilian population at Gaza. The measure’s fate, though, lies in the Senate, and Senator Schumer will likely kill any such legislation. On Thursday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will consider the Maintaining Our Ironclad Commitment to Israel’s Security Act, which would change the notification process Mr. Biden — and all future presidents — would have to deploy if they decide to withhold congressionally approved funds for the Jewish state. Mr. Biden was able to unilaterally place a hold on the weapons in late April without notifying Congress. Republicans want to change the law so that presidents have to send a letter to the legislative branch at least 15 days before the halting of aid begins. In that time period, Congress would have the opportunity to vote on a joint resolution of disapproval, which would force the president to release the arms. The legislation has broad bipartisan support and is likely to pass the House just after Memorial Day. The chairman of the committee, Congressman Mike McCaul, says the bill will help remedy Mr. Biden’s “dangerous mistake.”“Now, more than ever, we need to make sure our allies know that the United States can be relied upon when they are under threat — and that our adversaries know we stand with our allies,” Mr. McCaul says in an opinion piece for the Texas Insider. “Hamas’ October 7th massacre was as cruel, barbaric, and bloody as anything I have ever seen. Israel did not start this war — Hamas did.”Democrats have supported the bill enthusiastically in the past, and the minority leader, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, has so far declined to say if he will push his members to vote against the legislation. Congresswoman Kathy Manning of North Carolina says the bill “would strengthen congressional oversight of any changes to arms sales to Israel.” An Arizona Democrat, Congressman Greg Stanton, has also endorsed the bill, saying that “withholding critical aid sends a dangerous message to Israel’s enemies.”Currently, the process for notifying Congress about withholding federal funds by the president, whether it be for foreign or domestic programs, is much more lax. Under the Impoundment Control Act, which governs such embargoes, the president can ask Congress to rescind funds for things like military aid shipments and Congress has 45 in-session days to consider the proposal. Depending on the time of year or the congressional schedule, 45 session days could amount to a number of months.Mr. Schumer has made no public comments on Mr. McCaul’s Ironclad Act, though he has already helped kill a piece of legislation that explicitly called on the president to release the bomb shipments immediately. A member of the board of directors for the Republican Jewish Coalition, Eric Levine, tells the Sun that Messrs. Biden and Schumer are playing to their young, left-wing base in Michigan rather than serving America’s national security interests. “It’s an utterly disgraceful act by the Biden administration and shows its utter incompetence and ignorance of what is actually going on in the Middle East,” Mr. Levine says of the president’s decision. “It completely undermines and undercuts its alleged goal of saving Palestinian lives because what’s being withheld are these precision components” to the bombs. “What makes it particularly offensive is that none of this has anything to do with Israel prosecuting the war, defending western civilization, or American national security. It all is driven by the votes in Dearborn, Michigan,” which has become a hotbed for anti-Israel protests and “death to America” chants, Mr. Levine said.
