Speaker Johnson proposes diverting IRS funding for Israel aid
'Outnumbered' co-host Kayleigh McEnany sat down with House Speaker Mike Johnson to discuss his proposal and how Republicans have rallied behind the move.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told "Outnumbered" co-host Kayleigh McEnany in a recent interview that he was intending to divert some IRS funding for aid to Israel.
"My intention and my desire in the first draft of this bill is to take some of the money that has been set aside for building and bulking up the IRS right now," he said, and repurpose it for aid to Israel.
"They have about $67 billion in that fund and we'll try to take the $14.5 [billion] necessary for this immediate and urgent need," Johnson said of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas that started on Oct. 7 after terrorists killed, kidnapped and assaulted Israeli, American and other citizens at a festival.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told "Outnumbered" co-host Kayleigh McEnany in a recent interview that he was intending to divert some IRS funding for aid to Israel. (Fox News)
When asked how "united" the Republican Conference was on the providing funding to Israel in its war efforts, Johnson said the GOP was "100 percent united."
"I hope the Democrats will be as well," Johnson added.
House Republicans have rolled out a bill giving $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, while cutting into cash President Joe Biden allocated toward the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last year.
The 13-page bill released on Monday would completely offset the foreign aid by rescinding those funds from the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year. Specifically, it targets some of the $80 billion the package gave to the IRS.
The new Speaker is expected to hold a vote on the Israel aid bill on Thursday.
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Johnson received support from former President Donald Trump, who urged Republicans to "get it done, fast" ahead of a potential House speaker vote. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It will likely put Democrats in a tough spot between the political fallout of rejecting Israel aid and the bill’s removal of funds from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The bill puts Johnson at odds with the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, both of which are pushing for Israel aid to be tied with dollars for Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Johnson became Speaker after a series of votes that saw former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy ousted and Steve Scalise, R-La., drop out of the race entirely. Johnson received support from former President Donald Trump, who urged Republicans to "get it done, fast" ahead of a potential House speaker vote.
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Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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