President Joe Biden is expected to ask Congress – which right now lacks a Speaker for the U.S. House – for $14 billion for Israel, and $60 billion for Ukraine in its war against Russa, according to USA Today. Biden has also pledged $100 million in aid to Palestinian refugees, money that could quickly end up in the hands of their governing authority in Gaza: Hamas.
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"I do appreciate the Biden administration's pretty much unequivocal support for the state of Israel after they've been attacked. It was a barbaric slaughter. What the civilized world has to do is rally behind Israel and defend its right to defend itself and also hopefully destroy Hamas," Johnson said on Washington Watch last week.
The Wisconsin lawmaker told show host Tony Perkins he doesn't see an immediate need to get cash to Israel because the U.S. delivers "billions of dollars" to the Jewish nation for its defense on an annual basis. Other needs – munitions and such – are more pressing, he said.
"The main thing the U.S. has to do right now is show unwavering support for Israel's right to defend itself," Johnson argued. "We deliver billions of dollars every year in terms of defensive support for Israel. I don't think there's a real emergency right now.
"There are certain weapons of missiles for the Iron Dome, that type of thing, that we should certainly be delivering to them, but I don't think there's any huge emergency in terms of providing billions and billions and billions of dollars to Israel right now," Johnson added.
Are U.S. dollars canceling themselves out?
The bigger question for the senator is: Are U.S. dollars cancelling themselves out by playing both sides of the conflict? Johnson says that's a real concern – and that it didn't begin with the Biden administration.
"First, the Obama administration, with the Iran nuclear agreement, really transferred over $100 billion to the largest state sponsor of terror, Iran. Where do you think they spent that money? Not for the benefit of the Iranian people," he said, answering his own question.
"Now, the Biden administration has quietly transferred [funds] through relaxation of sanctions or allowing Iran to sell oil billions of dollars to Iran. Where do you think they're spending that money?" Johnson asked.
The Biden administration recently arranged for Iran to access $6 billion of its oil money that had been frozen in South Korean banks. The money was transferred to Qatar. In the wake of the Hamas attacks, news has leaked that Qatar and the U.S. have agreed that Iran's access to that money will be blocked for the foreseeable future, according to reports.
Speaking at news conference in Tel Aviv, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken offered: "We have strict oversight of the funds, and we retain the right to freeze them."
Iran's mission to the United Nations had its own take on that. Officials were quoted in a Reuter's report saying the U.S. government is "acutely aware that they cannot renege" on the deal. That confirms Sen. Johnson's suspicions.
"I think it's absolutely true that Democrat administrations have helped fund this level of terrorism. I think it's almost indisputable – and they need to be held accountable for what they've done," Johnson said.
