Biden urges House to approve Israel, Ukraine aid after months of stalling Senate-passed bill

President Biden spoke with the "big four" leaders on a call Sunday to discuss Iran's unprecedented attack against Israel, according to White House pool reports. 

On the call, Biden discussed the urgent need to pass the national supplemental as soon as possible on a call Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

The only aid package for Israel that will get to President Joe Biden's desk is the Senate-passed supplemental bill which includes military aid for Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel and also humanitarian aid for Gaza, Ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said Sunday morning on MSNBC. 

Meeks reiterated Biden's stance that US defensive support for Israel is "ironclad."

On Saturday night as US forces intercepted Iranian missiles and UAVs targeting Israel, House Republican leader Rep. Steve Scalise (LA) said this week's legislative schedule will be changed to bring forward legislation to support Israel. 

Details of this coming week's legislative changes have yet to be announced as of Sunday morning. 

In early November, the Republican-led House passed a plan to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel and cut funding to the ternal Revenue Service.

But because it combined aid for Israel with a cut to the Internal Revenue Service and left out aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden promised a veto and Senator Chuck Schumer, majority leader of the Democratic-controlled Senate, said he would not bring it up for a vote.

Senate supplemental bill

In February, the Democratic-led Senate passed its supplemental bill which would give $60.06 billion in aid for Ukraine, $14.1 billion to Israel, $2.44 billion for operations in the Red Sea and almost $4.82 for partners in the Indo-Pacific to deter aggression by China. 

The Senate bill would also provide $9.15 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine and other populations in conflict zones around the globe. 

"The Administration strongly encourages both chambers of the Congress to reject this political ploy and instead quickly send the bipartisan Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act to the President’s desk," the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement in February. 

Former President Donald Trump is the leading Republican voice opposed to sending additional funding to Ukraine. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close Trump ally, declined to allow a House vote on the Senate supplemental bill for months. Johnson met with Trump on Friday in Florida, fueling speculation about whether Trump will clear a vote on Biden's national security spending request. 

However, not every Republican is siding with Trump. 

McCaul on Ukraine and Israel

In an interview Sunday morning on CBS' Face the Nation, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) said he will be speaking with Johnson on Sunday night about the dire situation in Ukraine. 

McCaul said an option for Israel's response to Saturday night's attacks would be to take out the facilities where Iranian drones or rockets come from, and also destroy the manufacturing facilities that build them. 

Not just for Israel's sake, McCaul said, but also for Ukraine because the rockets and drones are being bought by Russia and are used to kill Ukrainians. 

What happened in Israel on Saturday night happens in Ukraine every night, McCaul said. 

McCaul told CBS' Margaret Brennan that he needs to educate his House colleagues on how Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific are all tied together. 

"Iran is selling this stuff to Russia. Guess who's buying Iran's energy? China," McCaul said, which is happening because the Biden administration lifted sanctions on Iran and helped fund their terror operations, he added. 

McCaul said he's an "eternal optimist" and is doing his part. He said in World War II the US didn't choose its enemies, it went after Japan, Italy and Germany all together. 

"We just can't pick and say Iran is bad, Russia is okay and China is bad. They're all in this together," McCaul said, "And it's very clear to those of us in the intelligence national security community."