Graham expects Senate to pass Israel, Ukraine aid package despite House bill

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday that he expects the Senate will pass a bill that includes aid for both Israel and Ukraine despite the House passing an aid package only for Israel that included offsets Democrats and the White House opposed.

When asked if a bill with funding for both Israel and Ukraine will pass the Senate, Graham said that he expects it will, just days after a GOP-backed House bill that included $14.3 billion in aid to only Israel.

“I am for Ukraine support,” Graham said. “We can’t pull the plug on Ukraine, let Putin get away with this. There goes Taiwan if you do that. I’m definitely for Israel. So I think you will see a package of border security, funding for Ukraine, funding for Israel coming out of the Senate probably as one package. I would support that,” Graham told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

House Republicans tied the Israel aid package to cuts to the IRS — a move that faces wide Democrat opposition including from the White House considering the IRS funding was a portion of the Inflation Reduction Act. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Thursday that his chamber would not take up the “deeply flawed proposal.”

Instead, he’s vowed to work with senators in both parties on a package that includes funding for Israel, Ukraine, competition with the Chinese government and humanitarian aid for Gaza. Many Republicans also want to see funding for border security included in the broad bill. The White House also slammed the House GOP proposal, saying that it was “politicizing our national security interests.”

Graham has been a vocal supporter of supporting both Israel and Ukraine in their respective wars. He said last week that there was ‘no limit’ of Palestinian deaths that would make him question support for Israel.