1 year ago
A top Republican is calling on Congress to pass a resolution of support for Israel even before a new House speaker is elected, warning that paralysis in the chamber would send a dangerous signal to America's adversaries.
House Foreign Affairs Chair Mike McCaul (R-Texas) called Sunday on his colleagues in Congress to quickly bring a resolution to the floor condemning Hamas — with or without a Speaker in place.
McCaul said that he and his panel’s ranking Democrat, New York’s Gregory Meeks, have been working on the resolution in the wake the extremist group’s devastating attacks on Israel’s southern border, and intend to push it to the floor “by unanimous consent, whether or not we have a speaker in place.”
“I think we cannot wait. We have to get that message out as soon as possible,” McCaul said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” warning that leaders in China and Iran were watching.
McCaul’s appeal comes amid mounting impatience in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle in Congress to show solidarity with Israel, America’s most significant partner in the Middle East.
Senate Democrats are pushing aggressively for quick confirmation of Jack Lew as ambassador to Israel, a position that remains vacant. And some centrist House Republicans are considering a long-shot attempt to reappoint Kevin McCarthy as Speaker amid concern that another drawn out speakership battle will delay action to aid Israel.
"How does the Ayatollah look at this knowing that we cannot function properly? And I think it sends a terrible message,” McCaul said Sunday. "We have to get a speaker elected this week so we can get things on the floor like replenishing the Iron Dome," referencing Israel's defense system against rockets fired at its territory.
On Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on House Republicans to end their "civil war" so that the body could respond to the violent attack in Israel.
"It is my hope that our Republican colleagues get their act together, can settle on a speaker who could receive 217 votes, and that we can move forward to get the business of the American people done, both as it related to our domestic needs — solve problems on behalf of the American people — as well as our national security considerations in terms of being there for Israel, being there for the Ukrainian people, being there for our allies all throughout the free world," Jeffries said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
The Biden administration made it clear it regarded Hamas' attack on Israel as a major international crisis. “This is the worst attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Blinken also commented on the paralysis involving Congress.
"As a general proposition, it would be very important we have both houses of Congress on a bipartisan basis in a place where they can clearly show and express their support for Israel," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
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