The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 16th, 2024: Congress In Conflict & Israel's Retaliation Plans

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    House Speaker Mike Johnson has outlined his plans to bring separate aid bills for Ukraine and Israel to the floor for a vote this week in a major test of the speaker’s ability to overcome the intense divisions within the Republican party. Reports are emerging that the Israeli response to Iran’s attack on Saturday will likely be limited in scope and target Iranian interests outside of the country in an effort to keep the conflict from escalating further. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Tuesday, 16 April. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has outlined his plans to bring separate aid bills for Ukraine and Israel to the floor for a vote this week in a major test of the Speaker's ability to overcome the intense divisions within the Republican Party. Also, reports are emerging that the Israeli response to Iran's attack on Saturday will likely be limited in scope and may target Iranian interests outside of the country in an effort to keep the conflict from escalating further. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Feeling a renewed sense of

urgency following the chaotic events in the Middle East over the weekend and increased pressure within his own party, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has announced plans to bring separate aid packages for Israel and Ukraine to the floor for a vote this week. Johnson will endeavor to bypass more conservative members of the House GOP caucus, many of whom have soured on sending more American tax dollars overseas, particularly for the war in Ukraine. The discord has so far prevented the chamber from passing a $95 billion foreign aid package that the Senate passed earlier this year. This time, Johnson will reportedly heed the demands of the right flank of his party and keep the issues separate. Individual bills for Israeli and Ukrainian aid will instead be

voted on in the hopes of preventing GOP holdouts on Ukraine and Democrats opposed to Israeli aid from uniting and sinking a combined bill, and that's according to our report from the Wall Street Journal. Johnson said it is, quote, the will of my colleagues to vote on these measures independently and not have them all sandwiched together as the Senate had done, end quote. There are currently few details available about the individual packages, but Johnson expressed confidence that the votes would be held by week's end. Far from closing the matter, however, the strategy will likely cause fresh headaches in the Senate, whose leadership as long opposed to separating the aid. They will also likely take issue with any number of changes that the House makes to the packages. Johnson has been

besieged by a torrent of requests from Republican colleagues to rearm Israel following Iran's attack on Saturday, as well as from foreign officials pushing for Congress to move forward with aid for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky also made a direct appeal to the U.S. Congress following the attack on Israel, drawing parallels between Iran and Russia's use of Shahed drones. Adding to the pressure, Johnson is facing another revolt from within his party, as Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green plans to bring a motion to vacate against Johnson, a move that could ultimately lead to his removal. While it's unclear when the motion might be brought to the floor, Green did get an ally on Tuesday in Republican Representative Thomas Massey,

who said he personally told Johnson that he would back Green's motion to boot him from the speakership during a closed-door meeting of the Republican conference. Now, Massey's declaration against Johnson was reportedly met with booze from the majority of his colleagues who have, frankly, grown exhausted by the constant infighting of the GOP House Caucus. The efforts from the hardliners of the GOP caucus, Kim, even as former President Trump has said that he stands with Johnson. Now, following the meeting, one unnamed Republican member of the House told Axios, quote, we are screwed, end quote. Now, actually, whoever said that is wrong. It's not the members of Congress who are screwed. It's the American public. Coming up after the break, we're learning that

the Israeli response to Iran's attack on Saturday will likely be limited in scope and, may target Iranian interests outside of the country, a move that many hope will prevent further escalation. I'll be right back. It's only getting every customer's order right. It's only a point-of-sale system connected by Spectrum-fiber-powered business internet, helping you track hundreds of secure transactions. And it's all backed by 24-7 U.S.-based customer support and local technicians.

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an Israeli official speaking to the New York Times said that several options are currently on the table, ranging from diplomacy to an imminent strike inside Iranian territory. However, there is some good news for people hoping that Israel's response will be non-escalatory, and who even knew that escalatory was a word? You're welcome. According to our report from NBC News, U.S. officials, who've been briefed on the options Israel is considering, suggests that due to the limited destruction caused by Iran's attack, they believe Israel will likely opt for a less aggressive option. That assessment is based on conversations between American and Israeli officials before Iran's

attack on Saturday night. According to four U.S. officials, Israel's response will likely include strikes on Iranian military forces and their proxies rather than a strike inside Iranian territory. The officials went on to tell NBC news that the options could include striking inside Syria. They don't expect a response to target senior Iranian officials, but to instead target shipments or storage facilities with advanced missile parts and weapons. Meanwhile, the Israeli defense forces continue their offensive against Lebanon-based Hasbullah, which participated in Saturday's attack. The IDF confirmed today that it eliminated Ismail Yosef Baez, one of the group's senior field commanders in southeast Lebanon. According to an army spokesman, Boz was a senior commander in the terror group's military wing

and held a rank equivalent to a brigadier general. Boz was involved in planning and executing attacks against Israel, including the launching of rockets and anti-tank missiles from the coastal area of Lebanon. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 16 April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. and be sure to check out our new premium membership at PDBpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe. Stay cool.

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