The House of Representatives, with a slim Republican majority as we barrel toward the 2024 presidential primaries, passed a bill on Thursday night to supplement funds to our ally Israel during the war with Hamas sparked by the terror group's October 7 invasion. The vote tally of 226-196 was the result of ayes by 12 Dems crossing the aisle:

#BREAKING: House approves GOP’s $14.3 billion Israel aid package https://t.co/hYlwfcDTSX pic.twitter.com/FACNJ1ulyJ

— The Hill (@thehill) November 2, 2023

Although the GOP conference was nearly unanimous in supporting the legislation, passage happened without votes from two GOP Reps. -- Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) -- who voted nay. 

But the big fight starts now of course, since the Senate and White House have signaled opposition to new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA)'s bill -- as has Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). My colleague Joe Cunningham wrote on Wednesday:

Apparently, this is all partisan maneuvering by Johnson and not fiscal responsibility, which is odd because Mitch McConnell is just as irritated by Johnson's decision as the Democrats are.

That's a clear sign that McConnell would have to be strong-armed into whipping votes for it because it doesn't have all the things he wants in it. God forbid we stick focus on one issue per bill and make sure that all the money we're spending actually exists and we're not taking on more debt to do it. What a crime on Johnson's part.

Via The Hill:

House Republicans on Thursday approved a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel, setting the stage for a fierce showdown with the Democrats in the Senate and White House who have savaged the GOP bill for excluding Ukraine funds and cutting IRS coffers.[...]

The Biden administration has threatened to veto the House’s legislation, arguing in a statement that it is “bad for Israel, for the Middle East region, and for our own national security.”

The vote, nonetheless, marks an early victory for newly installed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is seeking to unify a warring GOP conference in the wake of last month’s bitter vote to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and the three-week battle to replace him.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference Thursday, Speaker Johnson brushed aside suggestions that the separate funding bill that excluded Ukraine and IRS spending items had a political angle, returning to his argument about working toward balancing the nation's books:

If Democrats in the Senate or the House — or anyone else, anywhere else — want to argue that hiring more IRS agents is more important than standing with Israel in this moment, I’m ready to have that debate. But I did not attach that for political purposes.

As this is a breaking story, RedState will provide further details as they become available.