Rand Paul challenges Biden's veto threat on IRS funding redirection to Israel

Republican Senator Rand Paul asserted on Wednesday that President Joe Biden's threat to veto a House bill that would redirect IRS funds to Israel is nothing more than a feint.

The Republican Party is advocating for a separate $14.3 billion aid package for Israel, whereas the Democrats are aiming to incorporate this assistance into a large-scale expenditure bill that would also include support for Ukraine and border operations in the South.

Biden argued that the Republican plan, which aims to slash IRS funding by the same figure allocated in the controversial Inflation Reduction Act, “inserts partisanship into support for Israel.”

Speaking on “Fox and Friends,” Paul said “I think President Biden’s bluffing. I don’t think he’ll veto aid to Israel.”

“You really think he’s going to stand up in front of the world and say, ‘Oh, we’re not sending aid to Israel just because it’s paid for’?” Paul continued.

Paul stated that reallocating funds from other areas instead of increasing the deficit is "the conservative thing to do."

“Friend or foe, whoever we’re giving the money to, it ought to be paid for because our national debt is threatening our national security. Can we give Israel some money? Yeah, but it ought to be paid for. It ought to be paid for by taking it away from something that is harmful to our economy, and that’s more IRS agents,” Paul said, adding “So I think this is a win-win if we get it done.”

Paul continued, “I think McConnell, Biden and Schumer are going to lose on this ultimately, or if they forced their way, they could potentially topple the Speaker of the House, which I think is a terrible idea.”

The senator added “I think there may be trying to bundle together other parts of aid. But I’ll insist the same, whether it’s Ukraine or Israel that it’s paid for. And so there’s $44 billion in our money. I’m more than happy to rescind all of that if necessary.”