Republican bill for standalone Israel military aid falls short of super majority

The Republican bill to provide $17.6bn in aid to Israel tanked in the US House of Representatives after it failed to receive a super majority.

The Republican-led bill was largely rejected by Democrats on Tuesday, who wanted a vote instead on a broader measure that would also provide assistance to Ukraine, international humanitarian funding, and new money for border security.

The vote was 250-180 mostly on party lines but failed short of the mandated two-thirds majority required for passage. Fourteen Republicans opposed the bill while 46 Democrats supported it.

The White House, prior to the vote, issued a statement announcing president Joe Biden's intent to veto the bill if it were to reach his desk.

The bill to separate Israeli's aid from others was brought by speaker Mike Johnson in November on one of his first days as the new House speaker. The vote comes amid Israel's devastating war in Gaza in response to Hamas and other militants killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking captive some 240 men, women and children in an 7 October attack.

Israel has killed at least 27,585 Palestinians in its four-month-long offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Israel, one of the largest recipients of US foreign aid, has traditionally received strong bipartisan support in Congress. But many opponents to the proposed legislation called it a political ploy by Republicans to distract from their opposition to a $118bn Senate bill combining an overhaul of US immigration policy.

Speaker Johnson had said the Senate bill was «dead on arrival» in the chamber even before it was introduced. And Senate Republican leaders said on Tuesday they did not think the measure would receive enough votes to pass.

«This accomplishes nothing and delays