Sen. Tom Cotton on Thursday called on the House to impeach President Biden for threatening to withhold arms shipments to Israel.
Mr. Cotton, Arkansas Republican, argued on X that the situation was similar to one that former President Donald Trump faced when he threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine in 2019 and Democrats moved in lockstep to impeach him.
Democrats argued at the time that Mr. Trump threatened to stop congressionally authorized aid to Ukraine for his political and personal gain. Now critics of Mr. Biden’s threats to block weapons from heading to Israel say he’s doing so to help bolster his reelection chances.
“The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection,” Mr. Cotton said. “Only with Biden, it’s true.”
Mr. Biden on Wednesday said he’s “not supplying the weapons” for Israel if it continues its push into Rafah. His threat caused lawmakers to recoil, especially after passing a long-awaited $26 billion aid package to the U.S. ally.
“It’s Joe Biden putting his electoral prospects in Michigan and Minnesota ahead of national security,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, New York Republican. “I think the fact that Joe Biden is withholding ammunition and military equipment and threatening Israel as they defend themselves and as they make decisions that are in their best interest, I think is wrong.”
The Biden administration has since tried to walk back the president’s comments, promising that every dollar in the aid legislation would be sent to Israel.