Iran’s drone and missile attacks on Israel this weekend added fresh urgency to the long-stalled congressional effort to secure more aid for a U.S. ally, but as the House returns to session on Monday, there is little clarity on what type of aid package Republicans will take up.
Washington
Iran attacks add urgency to stalled congressional aid effort for Israel
On Sunday morning, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) didn’t specify what kind of aid package the House would consider — whether the combined Senate package or a stand-alone Israel bill. He instead simply noted that Republicans are “going to try again this week” to pass some sort of aid package for Israel.
“The details of that package are being put together right now,” Johnson said on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News Channel. “We’re looking at the options and all these supplemental issues.”
House Democrats have said they would quickly help the speaker pass the Senate-approved supplemental package, but Johnson has been unequivocal against the House considering the Senate bill without also addressing border security and adding conditions to how Ukraine is funded — two issues that have greatly divided the GOP conference.
The uncertainty of how to address Ukraine funding — and the threat by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to oust Johnson from the speakership if he holds such a vote — is why Republicans began pushing for a stand-alone Israel bill. On Sunday, Johnson noted that one of his first acts as speaker was to pass an Israel funding bill with “offsets” including cuts to the IRS that a majority of House Republicans supported. Because of this provision, however, the Senate refused to take that bill up.
In a post rife with inflammatory language, Greene said “there should be separate bills.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), echoed Greene, indicating the trouble Johnson could face if he tries to pass a supplemental package through the House Rules Committee that Massie and two far-right members sit on.
Johnson then tried to pass a straightforward Israel bill several months ago under suspension because the far-right members of his party opposed the lack of IRS cuts, but that effort failed to garner enough Democratic support because the bill did not include humanitarian aid. Democrats also did not want to lose leverage by passing an Israel-only bill and not have another mechanism to secure Ukraine funding.
National security Republicans, who will speak with Johnson late Sunday to brainstorm a path forward, broke with a majority of their colleagues by urging passage of bills aiding foreign allies facing immediate threats.
“I think it will have overwhelming support — both the Ukraine, Israel and Asia packages — not just because of what’s happened with Iran escalating the conflict in the Middle East, but because these are allies that need and deserve our support,” House Intelligence Chairman Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) said.
The House and Senate are in session for one more week before their next scheduled break from Washington, adding urgency to address the matter swiftly. Over the weekend, House Republicans appeared to be aware that time is running short.
In the wake of news of the attack, members of the Republican Study Committee, the largest faction of the five GOP ideological “families,” huddled during a previously scheduled retreat Saturday night to discuss the developments and how they could urgently address the matter. They agreed that the House must act immediately upon arriving back in Washington this week to pass a stand-alone Israel funding aid. That message was relayed to Johnson who, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting and conversations, was described as being in listening mode as he received feedback from all corners of the conference.
By Saturday evening, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on X that the House would change its legislative schedule for the week to prioritize considering “legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable,” but added that “details on the legislative items to be considered will be forthcoming.”
And Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that he and the chairs of other national security-adjacent committees in the House will meet with Johnson on Sunday evening to draft out a course of action for the week. But his goals for the aid package diverge deeply from some of the hard line members of the GOP.
McCaul remained adamant that the House must fund Ukraine’s war effort alongside Israel’s.
“What happened in Israel last night happens in Ukraine every night,” McCaul said.
Securing aid to Israel but punting on Ukraine would still mark a victory for Iran, a staunch ally of Russia who has supplied many of the drones Moscow is launching on Ukraine, McCaul said. Moreover, sending aid to Taiwan is imperative to counter China’s encroachment on the nearby democracy. The fight against one is the fight against the other, he argued.
“Would I need to educate my colleagues that they’re all tied together?” McCaul said. “I mean, Iran is selling this stuff to Russia. Guess who’s buying Iran’s energy? China.”
He added that Republicans can’t just say “Iran is bad, but Russia’s okay and China is bad.”
“We can’t do that — they’re all in this together,” he said.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who has long opposed further aid for Ukraine, argued in a Sunday morning interview with CNN that the United States can’t “possibly support Ukraine and Israel and our own defense needs” in the way Democrats and some House Republicans demand.
“Israel’s a much closer ally, is a much more core American national security interest,” he said. “If we pass the Ukraine and Israel supplemental and send a ton of weapons to Ukraine that the Israelis need, we’re actually weakening Israel in the name of helping them.”
But the $95 billion supplemental bill is not mutually exclusive — it includes funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The measure would provide about $60 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, much of which would come in the form of weapons, about $14 billion for Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and $5 billion to aid the Indo-Pacific.
House Democrats and senators from both parties have been urging the House take up the Senate proposal since its passage two months ago. Even before Iran’s attack on Israel, House Democrats publicly and a contingency of House Republicans privately have been saying that there is no way Johnson can strike an agreement that appeases a fractious GOP conference on such contentious issues, let alone in one week.
Early Sunday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said that the Senate-approved supplemental package should pass on Monday.
“The world is on fire. We should stand with our Democratic allies and push back against the enemies of freedom.” he posted on X. “The House must pass the bipartisan national security bill. Tomorrow.”
Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who has vowed to continue supporting Ukraine, earning him the moniker “Republican in Name Only” from Trump and other far-right Republicans — has signaled to Johnson that he should ignore the right-wing opposition within his conference and move ahead with the Senate-approval package.
“The national security supplemental that has waited months for action will provide critical resources to Israel and our own military forces in the region. It will provide overdue lethal assistance to Ukraine and equip vulnerable allies and partners in Asia,” McConnell said in a statement Saturday. “The Commander-in-Chief and the Congress must discharge our fundamental duties without delay. The consequences of failure are clear, devastating, and avoidable.”
House Democrats are largely united in their effort to pass the Senate package, launching a discharge petition last month that would override GOP leadership’s unwillingness to consider the legislation by forcing a vote on the measure if 218 lawmakers sign on.
According to multiple Democrats familiar with the discussions, Democratic leadership aims to get at least 200 to sign on since some in the far-left faction will not back it in opposition to funding Israel. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has personally taken the initiative to whip more support, getting four more Democrats — including three liberals — to reach 195 signatures.
Some Republicans have privately expressed signing onto the Democratic petition, as well as a bipartisan one that also includes border security measures, if far-right Republicans block the conference from backing whatever Johnson proposes.
Yet if Johnson moves on the Senate bill and Greene triggers the process to oust him from the speakership, Jeffries said at a Thursday news conference “that there are a reasonable number of Democrats who would not want to see the speaker fall as a result of doing the right thing.”
Washington
Commanders vs. Eagles | How to watch, listen and live stream
Mariota, who is dealing with a cut on his throwing hand and a quad injury, was considered doubtful to play in Week 18, Quinn said earlier in the week, and has not practiced since sustaining his injuries. Josh Johnson is set to make his second start to close out the Commanders’ season.
Washington
Cowboys 2025 rookie report: Promise and problems against Washington
The Dallas Cowboys managed to scrape a win on Christmas Day against the Washington Commanders in a game that got close, closer than what some fans would have preferred. But how did the Cowboys rookie class perform during the divisional victory? Let’s take a look.
(Game stats- Snaps: 92, Pass Blocks: 49, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 2, Penalties: 1)
Booker turned in another heavy-workload performance against Washington on Christmas Day, playing all 92 offensive snaps and earning a 74.6 overall grade, one of the better marks on the Cowboys’ offense in the 30–23 win. Dallas leaned hard on the interior run game, piling up 211 rushing yards and repeatedly gashing the middle of the Commanders’ front. Booker was a big part of those double teams and combo blocks with Cooper Beebe, helping Malik Davis and Javonte Williams stay on schedule and letting Brian Schottenheimer live in fourth-and-short territory.
It wasn’t a clean day in protection for the unit as a whole. Dak Prescott was sacked six times and hit repeatedly, with rookie phenom Jer’Zhan Newton racking up three sacks and five QB hits as Washington generated 19 total pressures. Interior pressure was prominent in postgame breakdowns, so Booker clearly had some rough snaps dealing with Newton’s quickness and power on games and stunts, even if not every sack can be laid at his feet.
One blemish on his night was an early bad penalty flagged on Booker on the opening drive, which, paired with a sack, put the offense behind the chains before they worked their way back into scoring range. To his credit, the moment didn’t snowball. He settled in, and as the game wore on his physicality in the run game helped Dallas salt away clock on multiple long marches in the second half.
(Game stats- Snaps: 39, Total Tackles: 2, Pressures: 3, Sacks: 0, TFL: 0)
Ezeiruaku had one of his quietest games of the season against Washington, more solid in assignment than impactful on the stat sheet. He was on the field for just 26 defensive snaps off the edge and registered only one total tackle with zero sacks, zero tackles for loss, and one total pressure. With the Cowboys generating only two sacks and three quarterback hits as a team and still allowing 8.6 yards per play and 138 rushing yards on just 17 carries, this was clearly not a night where the front consistently lived in the Commanders’ backfield.
Through this week, PFF has Ezeiruaku at a 76.4 overall grade with 35 total pressures on 580 snaps, ranking him among the league’s better rookie edge defenders. Pre-game advanced scouting had highlighted his recent 25% pass-rush win rate and 12% pressure rate over the previous month, even though that stretch produced hits rather than sacks. Against Washington, that underlying disruption never really showed up in the box score. He finished the game in a low-impact role while others, notably Jadeveon Clowney and Quinnen Williams, handled the actual finishing on Josh Johnson.
(Game stats- Snaps: 42, Total Tackles: 6, PBU: 1, INT: 0, TD Allowed: 0, RTG Allowed: 109.7)
Revel’s Christmas Day against Washington was another bumpy outing in what has become a tough rookie year, and it ended in a way that almost certainly pushes his focus to 2026. PFF graded him at 50.1 overall, the third-worst mark on the Cowboys’ defense, with of 43.0 against the run, 33.5 in tackling and 59.4 in coverage. On the coverage side of things, he was targeted six times and allowed four catches for 84 yards, his second straight game giving up 80-plus yards, as Washington repeatedly found space on his side of the field. The tackling issues that have dogged him all season showed up again too, he’s now credited with eight missed tackles (18.6%) on the year, and open-field whiffs in this game turned short gains into bigger plays.
Midway through the second half he took a blow to the head, walked off slowly and did not return. Postgame reports confirmed he’s been placed in the concussion protocol, with the team acknowledging he faces an uphill battle to be cleared for Week 18. With only one game left and nothing to play for in the standings, there’s a good argument for Dallas to shut him down, effectively ending his rookie season so he can recover fully and attack 2026. That might be the wisest move given his backdrop coming off an ACL tear, missing the entire offseason program, camp, preseason and a big chunk of the regular season.
(Game stats- Snaps: 36, Total Tackles: 6 TFL: 0, Sacks: 0)
James finally looked like a real part of the defensive plan against Washington, not just a special-teams body. He played 36 defensive snaps, his heaviest load in weeks, and he responded with six total tackles, tied among Dallas’ leaders on the night. He didn’t register a sack, tackle for loss, or any takeaways, and he stayed out of the penalty column, so his stat line is all about volume rather than splash. The Commanders ran only 41 offensive plays but still churned out 138 rushing yards thanks in large part to Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s 72-yard touchdown. James spent most of the evening in clean-up mode by fitting inside runs, rallying to Johnson’s checkdowns and helping get bodies on the ground after chunk gains rather than creating those big negative plays himself.
It’s fair to be harsh on the linebacker group as a whole, especially Kenneth Murray, and calling the heavy dose of Murray and James ugly against the run is also a fair criticism as Washington found creases between the tackles. On film, it’s a mixed bag for James, he was active and around the ball, but there were snaps where he got caught in traffic or arrived a beat late on cutbacks, contributing to a run defense that gave up far too much on a low play count. At the same time, this game underlined why Dallas has been nudging his role upward as he handled a starter-level snap share without blowing assignments, and his six stops push his season totals into genuine starter territory.
The best way to call James’ game is it was a busy but imperfect outing. James was heavily involved, did enough to look like a viable long-term piece, but he was also part of a front seven that made Washington’s ground game look more efficient than it should have.
(Game stats- Snaps: 18, Total Tackles: 1
*Snap count are all special team snaps*
Clark’s Christmas Day against Washington was another quiet but functional special-teams outing. He didn’t log any defensive snaps, with his entire workload coming in the kicking game as a core coverage and return-unit player. On those snaps he made one tackle and didn’t factor into any of the big swings. For a depth safety in his role, that kind of you didn’t notice him performance is basically neutral. He did his assignment work on special teams, avoided hurting the Cowboys in a game where field position and explosive runs were already a problem, but didn’t provide the kind of momentum-changing play that would jump off the tape going into 2026.
(Game stats- Snaps: 15, Total Tackles: 0)
*Snap count include special team snaps*
Bridges played almost entirely on special teams, with just a tiny glimpse of him on defense. He logged the bulk of his work on the kicking units, running lanes, taking on blocks and doing the dirty work that doesn’t show up much in the box score but matters for field position and consistency. On defense he saw only two snaps, essentially a cameo as an emergency outside corner rather than a true part of the game plan, and he didn’t figure in any major targets or tackles on those plays. Bridges handled his special-teams role and gave Dallas a reliable back-end option without ever having the kind of exposure that would define the game one way or the other.
Washington
Loved ones remember fallen Washington State Trooper born in Hawaii
TACOMA, Wash. (HawaiiNewsNow) – Colleagues and loved ones gathered to honor the life and service of Mililani High School graduate Tara-Marysa Guting, 29, who died in the line of duty as a trooper in Washington State.
Tara-Marysa’s older sister, Shannen Tanaka, spoke at the funeral.
“Tara, although our heart aches with your absence, we know you did not leave us behind. You remain bound to us by love that does not end. You remain just beyond our sight until the day we are able to be together again. We love you,” Tanaka said.
She delivered an emotional eulogy as she stood at the podium with siblings Troy and Ariana Hirata at Saturday’s memorial service.
“I don’t know how familiar you all are with the movie Lilo and Stitch, but there’s a quote that says Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. It was a sentiment that Tara lived by,” her sister said. “Ohana, in its deepest sense, is unconditional love, support and inclusion. It reaches beyond blood.”
The Washington State Patrol Trooper was struck and killed while responding to a crash in Tacoma.
The 2014 Mililani graduate leaves behind her husband Tim, who serves as a Deputy State Fire Marshal at the Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy.
Together they had four pets.
Tara-Marysa was one of many first responders in her family, including her brother-in-law Devin Tanaka.
DEVIN TANAKA, TARA’S BROTHER IN LAW>
“Tara’s passing is a devastating loss to a family who knows all too well both the rewards and risk of public service,” Devin Tanaka said. “We will never forget Tara, nor the 33 heroes that died members serving the State of Washington State Patrol.”
Friends and coworkers say Tara-Marysa left an impact on everyone she met.
“Tara you were my safe place, you made the world feel softer, more funny and exceedingly more manageable just by being in it, and even though I don’t know how to exist in a world where I can’t sit next to you on that couch again, I do know this, your love did not leave with you,” said Lily Guerrero, Tara-Marysa’s best friend.
One of her co-workers said, “It felt like every other day she was bringing some sort of gift or Hawaiian snack to literally every person in the building where we worked just to spread a little bit of joy.”
The funeral ended with a solemn salute for Guting.
She was the 34th person to die in the line of duty in the 105-year history of the Washington State Patrol.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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