After the Biden administration made the decision to suspend the shipment of ammunition to Israel, the Republican Party issued a letter asking the White House for an explanation for the decision, alleging that it did not share this information with Congress.
As reported by The Washington Free Beacon, Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) authors of the letter, have asked the president to detail the reasons why he did not communicate this decision:
We are shocked that your administration has reportedly decided to withhold critical ammunition to Israel. [You] did not notify Congress of this decision. You promised your commitment to Israel was ironclad. Pausing much-needed military support to our closest Middle Eastern ally signals otherwise. We must give Israel the arms it needs to fight the Hamas terrorists that continue to hold Americans hostage. We call on your administration to immediately restart the weapons shipments to Israel today as it continues to fight Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Iran-backed threats.
In addition, the Republican senators want to know the content of the aid that was not sent to Israel and if the White House is considering a block on more military aid items:
Which ammunition did your administration withhold from Israel? Why did your administration decide to withhold this ammunition? Did the administration withhold any ammunition that was approved by Congress in the recent national security supplemental? Does your administration have any plans to withhold further assistance from Israel? Why did your administration fail to notify Congress about this decision to withhold assistance to Israel? If your administration decides to withhold further assistance to Israel, would you commit to communicating such a decision to Congress beforehand?
Biden pledged 'vital support' for Israel
At the end of April, Joe Biden signed a law to grant Israel military aid valued at $26 billion to defeat its enemies. "It gives vital support to America's partners so they can defend themselves from threats to their sovereignty. Today, we answered history’s call at this critical inflection point," he said as soon as the aid package was approved.
Now, the president's commitment has been questioned after it became known that the White House stopped the shipment of weapons, as Budd and Ernst reflected in their letter: "On April 24, you signed the national security supplemental into law and promised that you ‘will always make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and terrorists it supports.’ If these reports are true, then you have once again broken your promise to an American ally."
