House passes bill forcing Biden to approve Israel arms shipments

• The bill is unlikely to get a vote in the Senate, and the White House has said Biden would veto it.

Driving the news: The House voted 224-187 to pass the bill, which would require the "prompt delivery" of congressionally appropriated aid to Israel.

• As an enforcement mechanism, the measure threatens to restrict funding to the State Department and Pentagon, including for the salaries of certain officials.
• The 16 Democrats who voted for the bill were mostly moderates or swing-district lawmakers who are staunch supporters of Israel.
• Three right-wing House Republicans, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), voted against the bill.

The backdrop: The bill was introduced over the weekend after it emerged that Biden was withholding a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.

• Biden has said he is trying to prevent an Israeli invasion of the Southern Gazan city of Rafah, which Democrats have long feared would result in a humanitarian catastrophe.

• The rare decision to withhold arms shipments spurred bipartisan backlash in Congress and from donors.

Between the lines: It was a difficult vote for many centrist Democrats, who had to balance their loyalty for Biden with their staunch support of Israel.

• Democrats faced pressure from AIPAC to vote for the bill and from Biden administration officials including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to oppose it.