Congress must first focus on avoiding a government shutdown before it can consider sending more assistance to Israel and Ukraine, Sen. Jack Reed said on Tuesday.
“The first priority is to get the CR,” Reed (D-R.I.) said during the POLITICO Defense Summit, using an abbreviation for the continuing resolution, which keeps the government operating under the previous year’s levels. “The second priority is to get funding for Israel and Ukraine … we have to do both.”
The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee stated his support for keeping the government open just as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and the White House are on board with the House's CR. Speaker Mike Johnson has pushed a plan to avert a shutdown that has two deadlines after the first of the year. The measure does not include funding for Ukraine or Israel, however.
Keeping the government open is “not a question of preference, it's a question of necessity,” Reed said.
He further expressed support for a supplemental that ties aid to Israel and Ukraine together, which President Joe Biden requested in a $106 billion package in October.
It’s widely expected that Johnson will not move a Ukraine funding package, despite saying publicly since he took the gavel that he would “bifurcate” Israel and Ukraine aid.
As Israel’s fight against the Hamas militant group continued with no end in sight, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee emphasized the need for Israel to have a “very precise use of weapons” to minimize civilian harm — warning of the repercussions if the civilian death toll continues to skyrocket in Gaza.
“Ultimately, they're going to have to separate Hamas from the Palestinian people. If they do not do that, Hamas will transform into something else,” Reed said.
He said he has seen "modest steps" on Israel's part to minimize civilian casualties, but that the U.S. is continuously reminding the country to conduct itself "according to the rules of war."
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