Days after the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis by Hamas, President Joe Biden went on national television to ask Congress for $106 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for security assistance to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

Congress immediately began hearings and discussions. However, the two houses and two parties weren’t on the same page. Even within its own conference House Republicans split on what to fund and what not to fund. Consequently, the urgent aid package remained essentially stalled for six months, entangled in a massive snare of differences. Resolution was finally achieved last week (and this) when the House and then the Senate passed the same compromise package and sent it on to the president.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) was elected House Speaker last Oct. 25 following the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Known as an isolationist, Johnson was inclined to oppose most of President Biden’s multi-pronged foreign aid request. In May of 2022 he was one of only 57 Republicans to vote against a $40 billion military assistance package for Ukraine.

However, he was eager to move on Biden’s request for assistance to Israel. Johnson urged House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) to introduce the measure on Nov. 1, and called it up on the House floor the next day, where it easily passed, 226-96. But the Democratic-controlled Senate was not buying into a piecemeal approach to security assistance. On Nov. 14, the Senate voted 51-48 to table consideration........

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