Biden would veto bill seeking to unfreeze arms transfers to Israel — White House

The White House says US President Joe Biden would veto a bill seeking to shield Israel from attempts by the administration to withhold arms sales or weapons transfers, maintaining that Israel is already getting “what it needs to defend itself.”

“We strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” the White House’s budget office says in a statement.

It calls the bill “a misguided reaction to a deliberate distortion of the Administration’s approach to Israel,” asserting that Biden’s commitment to Israel remains ironclad.

“The President has been clear: we will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself,” the statement reads.

The GOP-led bill would freeze the budgets of the secretary of state, the defense secretary and the National Security Council until arms Israel is expecting from the US are released.

It is largely aimed at forcing Biden to release a shipment of high-payload bombs for Israel that he withheld earlier this month amid concerns that they would be used by the IDF in a major Rafah offensive that Washington opposes.

While it will likely pass the Republican-controlled House, it is similarly certain to die in the Democrat-controlled Senate.