Franklin Says Biden 'not a Reliable Partner' for Israel

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden (D) has grown critical of Israel, and a recent threat to pull military aid has attracted criticism from Republicans. President Biden warned Israel against heading into Rafah, saying that the U.S. would have no choice but to pull aid from them. Israel instead has affirmed that heading into Rafah means exterminating Hamas, which has put both nations at odds. Florida Rep. Scott Franklin (R) has now responded to the debacle, saying that the president's message only assures "that we're not a reliable partner" for Israel.

"We're already in Rafah," said Rep. Franklin in an interview with The Floridian.

However, Franklin argues that the president's message sends a dangerous message to Israel and the United States' allies around the world

“Israel… is now prepared to have to fight this thing without us. I think they want and they welcome our assistance, but at every turn, the signals they’re getting from the State Department and coming straight from the president’s cue cards is that we’re not a reliable partner for them, and they can’t bank on us being there," Rep. Franklin explained.

In discussing the aid that the president is withholding, he explained that it's “not just things that were part of this package that we just passed, but also foreign military sales that they legally purchased."

By withholding aid, Rep. Franklin believes that President Biden is usurping "the will of Congress," and he's curious about the reason for doing so. "It certainly plays politically for him. He’s obviously terrified of the progressives and worried about slipping in that demographic, so here he is appeasing them with this kind of stuff.”

When asked about Florida Rep. Cory Mills’ (R) resolution, calling the president’s actions an “impeachable offense," Rep. Franklin was cautious about using the term "impeachable" for President Biden's actions towards Israel.

“I gotta look at this more. I don’t really know. I just think we do need to be careful where it’s gotten to where now anytime somebody don’t like anything that’s going on, we’re just gonna – let’s impeach first and file the impeachment… and then figure out later. I wish we wouldn’t just be springloaded that everything that happens up here being impeachable.”