This article has been updated to include Sen. Roger Marshall's (R-KS) reaction and his remarks from earlier on Tuesday, as well as reaction from Victoria Coates, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation.
Last week, we covered how the Senate refused to pass a standalone bill providing aid to Israel following the October 7 terrorist attack that Hamas perpetrated against our ally in the Middle East. Such a bill failed again this week, when earlier on Wednesday Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who introduced the bill last week, was able to bring the bill via a "sneak attack," as POLITICO explained. No other business had been before the Senate, which is why Marshall was able to move forward with his bill.
Ultimately, however, the bill failed. By a party-line vote of 51-48, the Senate voted against allowing the bill to proceed. Such a vote came after a request unanimous consent was blocked earlier on Wednesday by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).
Marshall reacted to the vote over his X account, as he pointed out that such a vote took place hours after the "Stand With Israel" event earlier that day.
BREAKING: Tonight, every single Senate Democrat voted to block aid for Israel.
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) November 15, 2023
Let that sink in. On the same day their leadership went and spoke at a pro-Israel rally saying they stand with Israel in their fight- they went to the Senate floor and voted UNANIMOUSLY against…
Democrats' refusal to support such a bill speaks to the fighting over whether to tie aid for Israel to tie to Ukraine. "Senate Democrats instead prefer to use widespread public support for an Israeli aid package as political cover to advance tens of billions of dollars in additional funding for Ukraine," read a statement from the office of Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), who has also been instrumental in introducing the bill.
The statement also included a quote from Vance. "Senate Democrats are obsessed with funding Ukraine," he said. "Tonight’s vote shows they’ll hold up anything, block anything, and fight against anything if it means reducing their leverage for more Ukraine aid. We should support our Israeli friends. Not use their tragedy as a political bargaining chip."
Vance spoke up strongly in support of the bill earlier on Wednesday as well, calling the vote "pretty simple and pretty obvious," emphasizing how the aid was "much needed" and "common-sense" and that it had already been passed by the House.
With regards to pushback from Democrats, Vance pointed to how one would hear from his colleagues on the other side of the aisle "a lot of slogans, but very little real discussion on our policy in Ukraine or our policy in Israel." This is because "Democrats have decided that this must be combined into a massive hodgepodge package for it to pass the United States package."
“Israel would be getting support from this government tomorrow if our Democratic friends didn’t stop it today...They know they cannot defend Biden’s disastrous, pointless and ultimately directionless Ukraine policy. So they’d like to use Israel as a cover.” - Senator @JDVance1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jOZnCasjoM
— Senator Vance Press Office (@SenVancePress) November 14, 2023
Vance also tellingly offered a reason for the pushback. Democrats are doing this, Vance pointed out, "because they know America is united by--behind Israel, and they want to use our Israeli allies as a political cover in their time for crisis," emphasizing "this is all this is about."
"They know they cannot defend President Biden's disastrous, pointless, and ultimately directionless Ukraine policy, so they'd like to use Israel as a cover," he added.
Marshall also held a press conference following that vote earlier on Tuesday, in which he reminded how "time is of the essence," including when it comes sending a message to Hamas and their backers in Iran. He stressed that the Republican bill doesn't come with conditions, unlike Democrats who want to focus on funding Ukraine.
Why do Senate Democrats say they support Israel but block our efforts to get Israel the aid needed in their fight against Hamas terrorists? They want this aid to come with conditions to fund unrelated, separate conflicts.
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) November 14, 2023
Our support for Israel doesn't come with conditions. pic.twitter.com/ZmsvoBLJFS
Victoria Coates, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, also slammed Senate Democrats, even saying Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) "should be ashamed." The rest of the statement was equally as strong, as it called to mind the October 7 attack:
“More than five weeks ago, Iran-sponsored Hamas terrorists launched a savage attack on Israel and the Jewish people. Israel took swift action in response to defend its homeland and protect its citizens. Now is the time for the United States to stand with our longtime ally and provide the funding and resources necessary to destroy Hamas and end its reign of terror forever. Instead, members of the Senate majority rejected a standalone bill for military aid to Israel today.
“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should be ashamed. Just hours after speaking at a pro-Israel rally in Washington, he led his party to defeat the Israel military aid bill. It didn’t have to be this way. Two weeks ago, a bipartisan bill passed the House of Representatives. The Senate should have swiftly followed suit. Instead, Schumer and his colleagues are now on the record standing in opposition to aiding America’s greatest ally in the Middle East.”
The POLITICO report spoke to how unwavering Senate Democrats have been in their opposition to this standalone bill, which passed the House earlier this month. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) even thought it fitting to bring up Murray's role as a preschool teacher to drive the point home:
Still, the drama on the Senate floor capped a chaotic day in Congress. For several minutes, Democrats refused to let Republicans speak — tying the Senate floor up in knots. Republicans then demanded at least a procedural vote before the Senate could move on to other business — like funding the government past Friday.
"Every member of the Senate should go on the record here,” Marshall said. “I’d call it a sneak attack."
Sen. John N. Kennedy (R-La.) was speaking ahead of the episode, when Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) whispered to Kennedy about the impending maneuver. Kennedy quickly wrapped up his remarks and yielded to Marshall, who then made his move. Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) then objected to GOP senators' efforts to speak.
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who presided over the messy and confusing episode, said Democrats were not going to budge regardless of the GOP tactics. They'd already thwarted other attempts to vote on the bill.
“They think they can wear down Patty Murray. That’s an impossible ambition. And she told me she was a preschool teacher, so she can handle these guys,” Welch said.
The most recent vote came just hours after tens of thousands participated in a "Stand With Israel" event at the National Mall in Washington, DC. Members of Congress from both parties participated, including Schumer and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) were also there.
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