The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 9th, 2024: Biden Threatens Israel & MTG's Bid To Unseat GOP Speaker Fails Spectacularly

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    The rift between the Biden administration and Israel is growing ever wider, as Biden vowed Wednesday evening to stop supplying Israel with weapons and artillery shells if their military invades Rafah, drawing condemnations from Israeli leaders and members of Congress from both parties.  We’ll discuss Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s failed attempt at removing House Speaker Mike Johnson from his post, which was roundly rejected by Congress on Wednesday in a rare moment of bipartisanship.  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 Thursday, 9 May. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, the rift between the Biden administration and Israel is growing wider, as Biden vowed Wednesday evening to stop supplying Israel with weapons and artillery shells if their military invades Rafa, drawing condemnations from Israeli leaders and members of Congress from both parties.

Also, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, remember her? Well, her colleagues rejected her attempt at removing House Speaker. Mike Johnson from his post on Wednesday in what can only be described as a rare display of bipartisanship. But first, our afternoon spotlight. President Biden doubled down on reports that his administration was curbing weapons transfers to Israel in an attempt to pressure their government to bow to U.S. demands. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Biden claimed that U.S. intelligence shows American weapons, including 2,000-pound bombs, have been used in strikes that have killed Palestinian civilians. In a major shift of long-standing U.S. policy regarding our number one ally in the Middle East,

Biden said that in addition to stopping the supply of bombs to Israel, his administration will also block the delivery of artillery shells if they decide to move forward with a ground invasion of Rafa. Biden told CNN, quote, if they go into Rafa, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafa, to deal with the cities that deal with that problem. Hmm. He added, quote, it's just wrong, we're not going to, we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells, end quote.

Well, that's certainly ironclad support. As we've regularly discussed, the Biden administration has been pushing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his war cabinet to forego their plans to root Hamas out of Rafa, arguing that it could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe for the more than one million. Palestinians sheltering in the enclave. Earlier this week, officials confirmed that the White House had already taken the unprecedented step of stopping the transfer of some 3,500 munitions to Israel, noting that they could be used to devastating effect if Israel mobilizes a full assault. Meanwhile, Israeli leaders have long said that eliminating Hamas must be the paramount objective,

as they can't take the risk of allowing the Iranian-built terrorist proxy group to reconstitute and continue to threaten Israel in the future. When asked about the initial decision to indefinitely pause the shipment of munitions, Biden further chided Israel's military operations, saying, quote, civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers, end quote. As you might expect, Israeli officials are incensed by what they see as just the latest example of the U.S. turning their backs on Jerusalem.

Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said the decision will, quote, encourage the enemies of the state of Israel, while Netanyahu brushed off the threats, simply stating, quote, if Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone, end quote. As we mentioned yesterday, Biden's decision is unlikely to change Israel's long-term objectives, as Israel already has a large and diverse arsenal of weapons, that they can use to proceed with operations in Rafah. Still, the decision represents a major change in U.S.-Israeli relations, and Israel's War Cabinet will reportedly meet Thursday to discuss the latest threat from the Biden administration. Some within the Israeli government were more direct in showing

their disgust over the White House's decision. Ben Gvrer, as Israel's national security minister, posted on X, quote, Hamas Hart Biden. Though he drew swift, condemnations from Israel's president and opposition leaders for the remark. Another minister in Netanyahu's Likud Party said it was, quote, amazing to discover that the world has forgotten what happened in Israel on October 7th. I don't know. I'd have to disagree with the minister. People have very short-term memories, particularly in the U.S. where folks seem to suffer from ADHD, even when talking about horrific brutal events like 7 October. And of course, there's the anti-Semitism, element. Biden is also facing significant domestic pushback, including from members of his own party.

While many in the Democrat leadership and the progressive wing have been promoting, prompting, or going along with Biden's decision, several Democrat congressmen have dissented. Democrat Representative Richie Torres of New York accused Biden of, quote, pandering to the left and said the move was likely in an election your consideration. And for that comment, Representative Torres is today's winner of the PDB statement of the obvious award. Democrat Senator John Federman also voiced opposition. Republicans, meanwhile, are more unified in their opposition to blocking weapons shipments, with some accusing Biden of abandoning Israel at a time when they're still in great danger

from both Hamas and other regional groups backed, supported and funded by Iran. Republican Senator Tom Cotton renewed calls for Congress to impeach Biden over the decision. He said Thursday, quote, The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with re-election. Only with Biden, it's true. End quote. All right.

Coming up after the break, we'll discuss Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Green's failed attempt at removing House Speaker Mike Johnson from his post, which was roundly rejected by Congress on Wednesday in a rare moment of bipartisanship. I'll be right back. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection, featuring three perfume intense scents, inspired by a unique orchid accord, paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude, each with its own universe, bold elixir, sensual, woody, addictive, magnetic elixir, sweet and romantic like a lingering touch, solar elixir, a radiant expression of joy, ultra-concentrated for amplified

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Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. And just like that, the effort to oust the U.S. Speaker of the House is over. On Wednesday, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Green made good on her promise to bring forward a motion to vacate the chair, which would require a majority of House members to vote to unseat the current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. During her speech introducing the motion, Green accused Johnson of aligning with Democrats to preserve his own personal power and ignoring Republican priorities. Now, in a rare display of bipartisanship, she was greeted by a chorus of booze from members of both parties.

Marjorie Taylor Green responded by pointing at the hecklers and saying, quote, this is the uniparty for the American people watching. As expected, the chamber voted overwhelmingly in Speaker Johnson's favor, killing the motion in a vote of 359 to 43. In total, 196 Republicans, the vast majority of the conference, rejected MTG's bid and voted with 163 Democrats. Just 10 of Taylor Green's GOP colleagues voted with her, including her two co-sponsors,

representatives Thomas Massey of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona. Speaking to reporters following the vote, Speaker Johnson said, quote, I appreciate the show of confidence from my colleagues to defeat this misguided effort. Hopefully this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assessment.

assassination that has defined the 118th Congress, end quote. Representative Ryan Zinke of Montana put it succinctly, telling Axios, quote, she got her ass kicked, end quote. Hmm, well, that's direct and succinct. After the votes were cast, former President Trump called for a show of unity among the GOP. In a truth social post, Trump called Johnson, quote, a good man who's trying very hard. Now, there's a ringing endorsement. He added that he wished certain things have been done over the last two months, but he said,

we'll get them done together. The drama may have subsided for now, but Green has left the door open for a possible future ouster vote. Man, she's like the house guest that won't leave. Let it go. Maybe, I don't know, focus on legislating and being productive. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 9 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirstTV.com.

And if you want to listen to the show ad-free, be sure to check out our premium membership at PDB premium.com. And, as you've probably already picked up from all the buzz on the street, on Saturday 18 May, we'll be launching the extended weekend version of the PDB. We're calling it the PDB Situation Report. It's a news, commentary, guests, a Bracus house band, new episodes will drop, as the kids say, every Saturday on all the podcast platforms, and the video version will be on our YouTube channel. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow.

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