'No Choice': Top Republican Demands Biden Be Impeached Following Pause Of US Aid To Israel

Following the Biden administration's announcement that the Pentagon would be withholding military aid to Israel amid its ongoing invasion into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, several Republicans have come out demanding that Biden be impeached for blocking aid for political reasons, a standard that was set during the Democrats' impeachment of then-President Donald Trump in 2019.

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, a senior Biden official explained that the administration was withholding the weapons over concerns about the impact on civilian populations amid the siege. "Israel should not launch a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering with nowhere else to go," the official said. "We are especially focused on the end-use of the 2,000-pound bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza."

The military equipment, which was approved by Congress, being withheld includes 1,800 2,000-pound bombs, 1,700 500-pound bombs, and other equipment. During an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden told host Erin Burnett that he would not provide artillery shells, bombs for fighter jets, and other offensive weaponry that could be used during the operation.

The unprecedented pause in arms shipments has led some Congressional Republicans to demand that Biden be impeached, citing Democrats' first impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019. "The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) wrote on X. "Only with Biden, it's true."

During a recent CNN panel on Thursday, pundit Scott Jennings asserted that Biden's actions in 2019 are nearly identical to Trump's. "They're going to recall a time when we impeached the president of the United States for withholding military aid authorized from Congress for Ukraine, $400 million, that was the basis of the impeachment. This was congressionally authorized military aid to our ally, and he is withholding it for political reasons." 

While Republicans are demanding impeachment for Biden's actions, members of the president's own party are condemning the move, with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) saying that the White House's move "makes a mockery of our credibility as an ally," per Axios. "I suspect it's pandering to the far left. It looks like election-year politics was driving it. That's my impression," Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has been staunchly pro-Israel, also said he was not in favor of the Biden administration's position. "I strenuously disagree," he said. "We have to stand with our key ally throughout all of this."

While some Democrats have voiced their concern with the White House's decision, some Democrats have praised the move with Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) stating, "I think it's what we've heard from ... all the wings of the caucus, that with Netanyahu continuing threaten an invasion of Rafah, we feel like a message needs to be sent."

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