Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, rebuked President Biden and praised former President Trump over US military support for Israel in a speech to her House chamber on Sunday.
“There is no excuse for an American president to withhold aid to Israel – aid duly authorized by Congress, to ease sanctions on Iran, to pay a $6 billion ransom to the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, or to hesitate and hide.” “While our friends are fighting for their lives,” the New York congresswoman and House Republican Conference Chair said.
Earlier this month, Biden acknowledged that the United States had temporarily halted a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, and said… The United States will not provide it to Israel With weapons to launch an attack on Rafah, he admitted that Israel used powerful American-made weapons in Deadly attacks in Gaza. He suggested that the United States would further reduce arms shipments if Israel expanded its ground offensive to include civilian population centers in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
However, Biden also said that the United States will continue to provide defensive military aid to Israel, and the White House said that the United States will ensure that Israel receives the full amount pledged in a recently signed supplemental funding package that includes about $14. Billion dollars to defend Israel. Last week, the Biden administration informed Congress that it intends to transfer $1 billion worth of weapons to Israel.
Referring to a letter written by George Washington to Jews in Newport, Rhode Island, Stefanik said Americans “strongly support Israel and the Jewish people.”
Stefanik noted, “For years, I have been one of President Trump’s most prominent supporters and partners in his historic support for Israel’s independence and security.” She is a close ally of Trump and was among the first to endorse his 2024 presidential bid. Sources told CBS News that Trump views her as a personal Potential teammate.
in Congressional hearings Late last year, Stefanik lobbied the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania about anti-Semitism on their campuses. Shortly after, two of the presidents resigned.
Stefanik told Knesset members: “We must not let extremism in the ‘elite’ corners hide the deep and abiding love for Israel among the American people. Most Americans feel a strong connection to your people.”
Nicole Killion contributed to this report.
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