Biden 'Not Complying' With Congress by Pausing Weapons to Israel: Stefanik

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik accused President Joe Biden of "not complying" with Congress this week after reports that the White House withheld aid to Israel.

On Wednesday, New York Representative Stefanik appeared on Fox News's Fox & Friends and was asked about reports that the White House paused aid to Israel ahead of a ground operation in Rafah in its ongoing war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

"It's just another example where President Joe Biden has failed to support our most precious ally: Israel," Stefanik said. "Congress passed supplemental funding and military aid to Israel and it is outrageous and is not complying with congressional intent, the fact that the Biden administration is holding these back."

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.

The Context

Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that a senior U.S. official said the U.S. paused a shipment of weapons to Israel ahead of the nation's ground operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.

The U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the AP that the shipment contained over 3,000 bombs over concerns about the possible use of larger explosives in Rafah, a city where many civilians are currently located.

The reports, if confirmed by the White House, would be the first instance of a pause in aid to Israel since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, which killed more than 1,200 people. In the months since, the U.S. had accelerated the transfer of weapons to its ally even as Israel's offensive in Gaza has left much of it in ruins and more than 34,000 Palestinians killed, according to the Associated Press.

What We Know

As Stefanik noted during her appearance on Fox News, Congress passed a $95 billion foreign aid package last month that included aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The stalled weapons were not connected to the $14 billion in aid given to Israel, the AP said.

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that it was beginning to conduct "targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip."

The IDF also called for a "temporary evacuation" of civilians in Rafah and just hours prior, Hamas said in a statement that they had reached a new ceasefire agreement following negotiations with Qatar and Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement following the ceasefire announcement by Hamas saying that Israel would continue its operation in Rafah. The statement, confirmed to Newsweek by a spokesperson for Netanyahu's office, added that "even though the Hamas proposal is far from Israel's necessary requirements, Israel will send a delegation to mediators to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable by Israel."

Views

Several other U.S. lawmakers have also criticized Biden for the reports of weapons to Israel being paused.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman said on Fox News this week that Biden has been "very supportive about Israel, but I don't agree with him on everything."

"Like, for example, I was public, and I said that I don't think we should be withholding any kind of munitions, and I think, I said, I think we need to send them immediately... Israel is in this kind of a war and, we, I have no conditions, I never have, and I can't imagine I ever will," Fetterman said.

Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said on X, formerly Twitter, that "Biden is holding up aid for Israel to appease his radical anti-Semitic base."

"Let's be clear: He can't keep claiming he stands with Israel while he's doing that at the same time. He wants it both ways. But you can't play both sides when one side is Hamas," Scalise said.

What's Next

According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration is set to release a review on whether Israel violated international laws with airstrikes in Gaza and the restriction of aid to civilians.