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Iran attacks add urgency to stalled congressional aid effort for Israel

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Iran attacks add urgency to stalled congressional aid effort for Israel


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.

Sharp divisions within the Republican Party have kept a Senate-approved, bipartisan $95 billion national security package that includes aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel from being taken up in the House. Although several lawmakers expressed optimism on Sunday that an Israel aid package will quickly pass in Congress, any legislation that is different from that version would have to go back to the Senate for approval. It’s unclear if such a new measure would garner enough support among a fractious House GOP conference and would likely face opposition in the Senate if passed via partisan margins, as it had before.

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.”

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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.

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“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.

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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.”

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“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.

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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.

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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.”





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Holdout Democrats leave WA House support for income tax in doubt

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Holdout Democrats leave WA House support for income tax in doubt


The votes weren’t there yet late Wednesday for Democrats’ income tax bill in the Washington state House.Democratic members are withholding support for the proposed income tax on millionaires, saying they want to see if a new version of the controversial legislation, possibly due out Thursday, will satisfy their concerns.



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Bill strengthening Washington child sex abuse material laws focuses on consciousness, AI

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Bill strengthening Washington child sex abuse material laws focuses on consciousness, AI


A bill aimed at tightening Washington’s laws on child sex abuse material is headed to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk after clearing the Legislature unanimously.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said 2ESSB 5105 passed the House unanimously Tuesday night after the Senate unanimously approved it on Jan. 28, 2026.

SEE ALSO | Washington exempts clergy from reporting abuse learned in confession after settlement

Manion called the measure one of her public safety legislative priorities.

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“People who peddle in the misery of sexually abused children must be held accountable,” Manion said. “I am grateful for the work of Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Laura Harmon – both in prosecuting these cases and advocating for these legal fixes – and Senators Tina Orwall and Manka Dhingra for championing this legislation.”

Manion’s office said the current state law has gaps that can prevent prosecutors from holding offenders accountable in some cases.

Under current law, prosecutors cannot charge defendants for creating images of child sex abuse unless the child victim was conscious or knew they were being recorded.

The office also said that possessing sexually explicit fabricated (AI) images of non-identifiable minors is not considered child sex abuse material under Washington law.

The bill would update RCW 9.68A.040 to remove the requirement that a child be aware of an abusive recording. It would also update the definition of child sex abuse material to include fabricated (AI) images of non-identifiable minors.

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The legislation would also increase the statute of limitations to 10 years for depiction crimes. Manion’s office said the current statute of limitations is three years, and argued that because the images can remain online indefinitely, victims can be re-traumatized for decades.



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Utah Starts Road Trip with Win in Washington | Utah Mammoth

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Utah Starts Road Trip with Win in Washington | Utah Mammoth


Both of Utah’s power play units scored in the win. Sergachev scored his 10th goal of the season on the power play 13 and a half minutes into the first period. Peterka scored his 21st of the season, on the man-advantage, in the final two minutes of the middle frame. 

Peterka has three power play goals in the 2025-26 campaign while Sergachev has matched a career-high with five power play goals this season. Overall, Utah’s power play has scored six goals in the last six games. That output matches the Mammoth’s total from their previous 18 games (per Mammoth PR). Tourigny discussed what’s changed with the team’s performance in recent games.

“(The) puck gets in,” Tourigny laughed. “But, no, I think there’s a number of things. The most important thing is we’re aggressive. We’re attacking.

“…If you look at our goal, the first one, it’s a direct play to the net and then on the loose puck recovery we take a shot with traffic and we score,” Tourigny continued. “On the second one, it’s a slot pass, a great shot by (Peterka). I think we had that attack mindset.”

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Guenther, who is on the Mammoth’s top power play unit, agreed with Tourigny’s assessment of attacking more.

“I think just attacking, less predictable,” Guenther explained. “Shooting it more, I think (it is) just work really. Trying to play like a 5-on-5 mindset but on the (power play).”

The Mammoth made several line changes for tonight’s game and the new lines started to find chemistry, despite it being the first game with these changes. 

“I like them,” Tourigny said of the changes. “Obviously (Guenther) got a goal, but Cooley’s line was really good. I was looking at the expected goals at the end, I think they were above 90%. So that’s pretty, pretty awesome. Then I think (Barrett Hayton’s) line worked really hard. They’re heavy on pucks and they play well defensively. I did like (Michael Carcone’s) line in (the) previous three games, and I did like them again tonight.”

When Washington pushed back with a power play goal and multiple close chances in the third period, Utah fought hard against the momentum swing to secure the win. 

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“I thought we did a pretty good job,” Keller explained. “Weathering the storm as much as we could. They’re a great veteran team. They made it hard on us. They pressured us all over the ice, but I was proud of the way we fought there towards the end.”

Utah’s bench was positive and calm throughout the game, especially late in the third. This helped the Mammoth through the momentum swings. Keller, who had two assists in the win, was one of the key voices for the Mammoth.

“He’s one of the guys who was really positive on the bench,” Tourigny explained. “(All the players) were but (Keller) was really vocal. He was really good energy on the bench. So that was really good.”

Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)

  • Guenther had two points in the win (1G, 1A) and the forward has earned a team-high nine points (5G, 4A) through six road games in 2026. He has become the third Mammoth skater to reach the 50-point mark this season (28G, 23A) and established a new career-high in goals.
  • Sergachev has 18 power play points this season (5G, 13A) and is tied with Keller for the team lead this season.
  • Keller has recorded multiple primary assists in a game for the seventh time this season and the 27th time in his NHL career. He has now tallied multiple points in four of his last six contests (2G, 8A), with three multi-assist outings over that span.

The Mammoth continue their five-game road trip in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Game time is 5 p.m. MT and available to watch on Mammoth+ and Utah16.

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