Will these California Republicans back funding for Israel and Ukraine?

WASHINGTON —  On Oct. 7, I was sitting on my friend’s roof, waiting to start our book club, when a push alert about violence in Israel flashed across my phone screen.

I was, that Saturday, on a self-prescribed news fast. Earlier that week, Congress (and my job) had been transformed by the historic ouster of Bakersfield’s Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. His removal thrust the chamber (and my personal calendar) into chaos because no one knew who would replace him.

But Hamas’ attack, and Israel’s deadly counterattacks on the Gaza Strip, was so dramatic, I ended my self-imposed exile to learn more.

I was curious how this new war would play in a Congress where the GOP, led by the far right, had for weeks blocked the U.S. from sending Ukraine, another American ally, new spending to bolster its military as it fends off Russia’s invasion. Many of these Republicans urged the federal government to be more prudent in how it spends taxpayer dollars. So I wondered if they would stand in the way of President Biden signing new spending bills.

After the House GOP finally elected Louisiana’s Mike Johnson as speaker on Oct. 25, top Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, called for Congress to move quickly to aid America’s allies. Weeks later, no new funding has reached Israel or Ukraine.

Will the money ever get to America’s allies?

Hello, my name is Erin B. Logan. I cover national politics for the L.A. Times. Today, we are going to discuss Congress’ fight over funding to aid America’s allies.

Loyalty fading?

Foreign policy is, in some ways, the last bastion of bipartisanship in Washington. Democrats and Republicans tend to agree on the need to help the nation’s allies.

But recently, sending Ukraine more federal dollars has become increasingly unpopular among Republicans. Weeks before McCarthy’s removal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Washington to shore up Republican support for his cause. But so far, that visit has not resulted in new aid for Kyiv.

Republicans for Ukraine, a nonprofit that pushes Republicans to support Kyiv’s war effort, ranks California GOP Reps. Doug LaMalfa and Mike Garcia especially poorly. Spokespeople for Garcia and LaMalfa did not respond to a request for comment. The nonprofit has chided Republicans like LaMalfa and Garcia, imploring them to stand against dictatorships like Russia.

Foes of Garcia have hammered him especially hard, as he appears vulnerable in the 2024 election, and support for Ukraine is still strong among Democratic voters. (Cook Political Report rates Garcia’s race a toss-up.)

The White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate have sought to make Ukraine aid legislation more appealing for House Republicans like LaMalfa and Garcia by including GOP priorities — funding to bolster the southern border and money for Israel — in a large spending package.

Does it have the votes?

Earlier this month, House Republicans sent the Democratic-controlled Senate more than $14 billion for Israel. The bill, though, contained a poison pill: In order to send the Middle East nation additional funds, Biden would have to gut new funding for the Internal Revenue Service. Slashing that new IRS money, a pillar of Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act, would’ve cost the government billions more than it would save by allowing tax cheats to get away with paying less than they owe, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The proposal was obviously dead on arrival, forcing lawmakers to go back to the drawing board.

On Monday, though, Johnson said he was “confident and optimistic” the United States would be able to send both Ukraine and Israel new money before the end of the year. Senate leaders also projected confidence late Tuesday, with Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York saying he would put forth a bill to help America’s foreign allies.

The latest from the campaign trail

—California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will meet Thursday for an unusual debate focused on how the two huge states reflect America’s political divide, Times staff writers reported. Because Democrats have all the power to shape state laws in California, while Republicans dominate policymaking in Florida, the states will be scrutinized by Fox News debate host Sean Hannity as examples of what’s possible when a state government is run by one political party.

—Silicon Valley executive Lexi Reese dropped out of California’s U.S. Senate race, citing fundraising difficulties and an inability to gain traction among state voters, Times writer Benjamin Oreskes reported.

—When a group of wealthy Californians launched a ballot measure campaign in late 2021 aimed at improving pandemic preparedness after the deadly COVID-19 outbreak, they netted more than $21 million in less than six months, Times staff writer Laura J. Nelson reported. The money backing the initiative, which would raise taxes on the wealthy, came from people tied to Silicon Valley, including Sam Bankman-Fried, whose cryptocurrency empire collapsed months later.

—Over the last year, Vice President Kamala Harris has focused on energizing young voters, who were essential to the vice president and President Biden’s 2020 victory and will be key to the Democrats’ reelection bid next year, Times writer Courtney Subramanian reported.

The latest from the Israel-Hamas conflict

—On Monday evening, after intense mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt, the militant group Hamas announced a two-day extension of the agreement, Times writer Nabih Bulos reported. That is expected to result in the release of more hostages who were kidnapped from Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 and Palestinian women and teenagers who are being held in Israeli prisons.

—The deal seemed on the verge of unraveling when Hamas had accused Israel of failing to keep its side of the bargain, and Israel was threatening to resume its lethal onslaught on the Gaza Strip, the Associated Press reported. That was the point at which a Qatari jet landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on Saturday.

—Elon Musk, who’s been under fire for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory and wider accusations of antisemitism flourishing on his social media platform, visited Israel on Monday, touring a kibbutz that was attacked last month by Hamas militants and holding talks with top leaders, the Associated Press reported.

The view from California

—The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday will consider a new law that would require hosts of short-term rentals, including Airbnbs, and hotels to obtain a police permit, Times writer Dakota Smith reported. Backers of the proposal said the permit requirement will help the city crack down on party houses and create a new regulatory hurdle for short-term rental and hotel operators, allowing the City Council and neighborhoods to challenge the issuance of the permits.

—Artificial intelligence that can generate text, images and other content could help improve state programs but also poses risks, according to a report released by the governor’s office on Tuesday, Times writer Queenie Wong reported.

Sign up for our California Politics newsletter to get the best of The Times’ state politics reporting. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and send pictures of your adorable furbabies to me at [email protected].