Congressional Complications: With no House Speaker and Senate blockade, aid to Israel stalls

DES MOINES, Iowa - As rockets light up the Israeli sky and sirens wail, America is mostly unable to assist one of its biggest allies in the Middle East. After Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as Speaker of the House, Congress is paralyzed. Until a new speaker is named, the House can’t conduct regular business.

Karen Kedrowski, Political Science Professor at Iowa State University, says House Republicans will try to elect a new speaker Wednesday, and any aid will come at a delay. In the meantime, Kedrowski says there may be some discretionary money the President can send.

“In all likelihood that would be very limited amount both an amount and duration. So any significant military aid would need congressional action,” Kedrowski said.

Further complicating matters - Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville’s blockade on about 300 military appointments. Military promotions are usually done en masse, but senators have the ability to force a roll call vote on each one. Tuberville’s stall is over a Pentagon policy to pay for troops’ travel costs to get an abortion across state lines.

Kedrowski says that can impact the conflict, because the military is part of the nation’s intelligence community.

“We share intelligence information with our allies and they share their intelligence information with us all of the time. So without you know, a titular head or people in key positions, it might delay our ability to be able to process and to communicate any intelligence,” Kedrowski said.

Another story clouding things - inaccurate reports that the U.S. paid Iran, who is suspected of aiding in Hamas’ attack on Israel, $6 billion dollars for a prisoner swap in September.

“It’s not the U.S. is giving U.S. money, [the] U.S. did not pay a ransom, the U.S. agreed to release some of Iran’s money to Iran,” Kedrowski said.

Since the 1970s, the U.S. has frozen many Iranian assets. The unfreezing of that $6 billion is earmarked only for humanitarian aid, and comes with strings attached before it can be handed over. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Iran hasn’t been able to spend a single dollar.

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