Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has introduced an amendment to strip $500 million in military aid to Israel from the U.S. defense appropriations bill currently working its way through Congress. The firebrand congresswoman, who has previously faced accusations of heing an antisemite – announced her proposal in a Facebook post she described as “a sprinkle of a slight rant and sarcasm delivered on a bed of raw truth,” sparking immediate backlash for its tone and substance. The amendment wouldn’t just target Israel — Greene also called for slashing an additional $500 million earmarked for Taiwan, $500 million for Jordan, $118 million in overseas disaster relief, and $15 million in HIV prevention programs abroad. The total cuts would eliminate more than $1.6 billion in foreign assistance from the Pentagon’s budget. Greene justified the cuts by citing what she called the misplaced priorities of American foreign policy. “The U.S. State Department already gives nuclear-armed Israel over $3 billion every single year,” Greene wrote. “They’ve nearly decimated Hamas on their own, and we just bombed Iran’s nuclear program for them. Enough.” She went further, dismissing aid to other strategic allies. “Taiwan and Jordan have already received billions. Why should we be giving them another $500 million each?” she asked. She also criticized humanitarian aid funding, arguing the U.S. receives little international support in return. “Where are our great foreign friends throwing money at us for the devastated families in Texas from the July 4th flood?” Greene asked. “We have a drug and mental health crisis, and Americans can’t afford rent, bills, or insurance — why are we shipping billions overseas?” Speaking later on Steve Bannon’s “WarRoom” podcast, Greene doubled down, saying the defense budget should be “for the defense of the United States of America and our borders.” The proposed cuts come at a time of heightened global instability, following Israel’s recent war with Hamas and a U.S.-led strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israel remains a major recipient of U.S. military aid — much of it guaranteed under a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed during the Obama administration. Greene preemptively pushed back against criticism, insisting that cutting the proposed $500 million for Israel “does not make us anti-Semitic or isolationist.” The move places Greene once again at the center of the ongoing debate over America’s role on the global stage — and reopens fault lines within the GOP between traditional defense hawks and a growing populist wing skeptical of foreign entanglements. The defense appropriations bill is still in markup. Whether Greene’s amendment will be adopted remains unclear, but senior Republican aides say it’s unlikely to gain traction in committee or on the floor. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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