Washington, and a Crippled Congress, Grapple with How To Respond to Terror in Israel

With the House paralyzed in the post-McCarthy interregnum, Washington has so far been unable to respond to Hamas’ attack on Israel with significant military or economic aid. Republicans are due to choose their candidate for speaker on Wednesday, though it is unclear if a speaker will be elected by the full House by the end of the week.For the time being, aid will have to be sent to Israel at the behest of the executive branch alone, though it is unclear what measures — be they economic assistance or military hardware — are fully available at this moment. A spokeswoman for the National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.On Sunday, Secretary of Defense Austin announced that he had ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to move to the eastern Mediterranean, closer to Israel’s shores. The carrier group includes an aircraft carrier, a Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser, and several guided-missile destroyers. The secretary also announced that the Department of Defense was in the process of repositioning several Air Force fighter jet groups in the region so they can be better prepared for “deterrence.”“The United States government will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions,” Mr. Austin added. “The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days.”President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke on Sunday about the delivery of aid. In a readout of the call, the White House says the president “conveyed that additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces is now on its way to Israel with more to follow over the coming days.” A report from the Wall Street Journal late Sunday confirmed what many in Washington already believed — that Hamas was working with the Iranian regime in planning this surprise attack. Many Republicans have called for the Biden administration to freeze $6 billion that is due to be paid to Iran for “humanitarian” use after the regime released a number of American hostages, a demand that could win bipartisan support, especially following the Journal’s report. Other aid measures will have to make their way through Congress, though many in Washington are saying that the House is unable to move forward with any legislation as long the speaker’s chair remains empty. The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Michael McCaul, said he and his Democratic counterpart on the panel, Congressman Gregory Meeks, will introduce an aid package in the coming days, hoping that it can pass “by unanimous consent, whether or not we have a speaker in place.”“I think we cannot wait,” Mr. McCaul told CNN on Sunday. “We have to get that message out as soon as possible.”The problem, however, is that it is not clear if the House is legally permitted — even by unanimous consent — to pass legislation without an elected speaker. The position of speaker pro tempore, currently occupied by Congressman Patrick McHenry, was only established in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks as a contingency plan for the continuity of government and is vested with few powers. A former parliamentarian of the House of Representatives, Charles Johnson, who was charged with interpreting and enforcing the rules of the House for years, tells the Washington Post that the speaker pro tempore cannot, by law, oversee the passage of legislation. He or she may only “preside over debate” or facilitate the election of a full-time speaker. On Sunday evening, Axios reported that Messrs. McCaul and Meeks will soon introduce a resolution that affirms American support for Israel while condemning the Hamas attack. The resolution, Mr. McCaul said, should be “one of the first, if not the first items considered on the floor once we elect a new Speaker.”The urgency for aid may be increased when members of Congress hear from two of their colleagues who happened to be in Israel when the attacks began. Senator Booker, one of the most staunchly pro-Israel members of Congress, was visiting the country for the N7 Initiative meeting, which “seeks to broaden and deepen regional integration between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries,” according to the group’s website. In a statement released Sunday, a spokeswoman for Mr. Booker said he “sheltered in place” with staff when the attack began on Saturday morning. The senator was able to safely depart on Sunday morning. Congressman Daniel Goldman, a New York Democrat, was visiting family in Israel when the attacks began. According to a statement from his office, Mr. Goldman, his wife, and three of their children were forced to shelter in place after a Hamas missile struck the hotel where they were staying. They were able to depart for New York early Sunday morning.

Washington, and a Crippled Congress, Grapple with How To Respond to Terror in Israel

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