A divided House on Thursday passed a Republican-written bill that would tie $14.3 billion in military aid for Israel to domestic spending cuts and provide no money for Ukraine, defying President Joe Biden and dooming its chances in the Senate.

Republicans pushed through the measure on a mostly party-line vote of 226-196. That’s rare for an Israel aid package, which would normally enjoy broad bipartisan support.

All but a dozen Democrats opposed the legislation, put forward by the newly elected Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, because it would slash Biden’s plan to bolster the IRS’ tax collection efforts. This sets up a showdown in the Senate.

Biden has requested such a package, totalling $105 billion, and White House officials said on Tuesday that he would veto the House bill because it was limited to Israel and contained “partisan poison pill offsets.”

Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, said in a speech before the House vote on Thursday that the Senate would not take up the House-passed proposal at all, and would instead craft its own bipartisan bill containing aid for Israel and Ukraine.

New York Times News Service