President Biden’s White House is facing a slew of fresh criticism from fellow Democrats over its decision to bypass Congress for a second time to send aid to Israel.
Hardline Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called the move ‘indefensible’ on Tuesday.
‘This is morally indefensible. How can we expect Netanyahu’s government to stop the mass killing of civilians and calls for ethnic cleansing if we continue to supply the weapons used to carry it out?’ Omar wrote in an X post.
‘Dozens of humanitarian and national organizations recently urged the Administration not to supply *these specific munitions* on the grounds that they are being used indiscriminately to target civilians—in violation of U.S. and international law.’
This comes on the heels of a rebuke from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a Biden ally and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
‘Just as Congress has a crucial role to play in all matters of war and peace, Congress should have full visibility over the weapons we transfer to any other nation,’ Kaine said over the weekend.
‘Unnecessarily bypassing Congress means keeping the American people in the dark. We need a public explanation of the rationale behind this decision—the second such decision this month.’
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who like Omar is part of the progressive House ‘Squad,’ accused the White House of hypocrisy in bypassing Congress while also condemning Israeli officials’ comments as too extreme.
‘The White House cannot have it both ways: calling on the Israeli government to uphold international law while bypassing Congress to send weapons that are leading to violations of international law,’ Bush wrote on X. ‘How many innocent people must die before [Biden] will demand a ceasefire?’
Similarly, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said on Monday, ‘Biden Admin calls for fewer deaths [in Gaza], while again bypassing Congress to send more arms to Netanyahu, who’ll ensure more deaths. Meanwhile, pleas by Israeli hostage families are ignored.’
The State Department announced late last week that Secretary Antony Blinken made an emergency determination to bypass Congress on an emergency arms sale to Israel totaling $147.5 billion. A similar decision was announced on Dec. 9.
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas was sparked on Oct. 7, when militants from Gaza launched a surprise attack that killed more than 1,000 people – mainly civilians.
Israel’s responding ground invasion and bombardment has killed more than 22,000 Gazans, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
Fox News Digital reached out to both the White House and the State Department for comment.