Israel split-screen: Feds fly citizens home for a price. DeSantis’ charters are free.

Flights out of Israel have become another partisan wedge issue in the U.S. — with Republicans including Ron DeSantis painting the Biden administration as too slow to ferry Americans out of harm’s way.

State Department-chartered planes and boats began to carry U.S. citizens out of Israel on Friday as the war with Hamas ramps up, and the State Department told POLITICO that more than 4,000 seats are available through Thursday for Americans wishing to leave. But by federal law, the passengers will eventually have to reimburse the government for the price of their passage.

Meanwhile, DeSantis, the Florida governor, and Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills have spent the last week organizing travel options of their own — for free. They claim, through their separate efforts, to have transported almost 400 Americans in total as of Monday.

"There was a devoid [sic] of leadership, so we stepped up and led," DeSantis said in a video on Sunday from the tarmac at Tampa International Airport.

Mills and DeSantis, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, emphasized that the charters they helped organize did not expect those being transported to pay their passage.

"I have secured a charter plane with 219 available seats that need to be occupied as soon as possible," Mills posted on X. "In contrast to Joe Biden's charter flights, this service is provided to passengers FREE OF CHARGE."

The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the GOP criticisms of their charter flight effort.

But Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he thinks that President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, expected Wednesday, may be a watershed moment as the U.S. looks to bring people home who want to come, saying that Biden can play a “breakthrough role.”

“It’s a very challenging situation but I’m hopeful the president’s trip will enable more Americans to leave,” Blumenthal said in an interview Tuesday, adding that giving Americans trapped in Gaza “safe egress” is also a top priority.

However, the idea of making sure that U.S. citizens trying to leave Israel don’t have to pony up may have some sway among Democrats. On Tuesday two Democratic lawmakers suggested they favor waiving reimbursements for U.S. charter flights from Israel.

“I think the cost, certainly, is a factor that deserves consideration,” Blumenthal said. “But the cost shouldn’t be exorbitant and there ought to be some consideration of paying for Americans to leave if they can’t afford it.”

And Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who was in Israel when Hamas attacked, said he wasn’t aware of the federal law that requires reimbursement for U.S.-chartered repatriation efforts.

But Booker added that it “seems kind of wrong” when “we’re trying to get people out of that situation.”

The State Department told POLITICO that more than 3,000 Americans informed the U.S. government that they left Israel since the Oct. 7 invasion by Hamas using commercial air flights, land routes or other means. On Monday, the U.S. Navy deployed ships and other assets to the region to be ready for any potential response to the burgeoning conflict, which could include evacuating Americans.

But the criticisms from Republicans came after U.S. airlines have suspended all flights to or from Tel Aviv through the end of the month, making it harder for U.S. citizens to leave. A group of House Democrats, meanwhile, has begun pressing U.S. airlines to resume service, though foreign airlines are continuing to operate flights, including for Americans seeking to leave.

The DeSantis administration estimated that about 20,000 Americans wanted to leave Israel last week, though it isn’t clear where those numbers came from. State hasn’t released any accounting of how many Americans are seeking passage. An airline industry official, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said government estimates are close to DeSantis’ number, but slightly less.

The flights are yet another issue where DeSantis is seeking to present a contrast in leadership between himself, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and President Joe Biden as the presidential election approaches. It’s an especially charged political moment, considering that Jewish voters have particularly large populations in some Democratic strongholds — and in Florida.

"I knew that they [the Biden administration] had no plan, no strategy, that they were gonna leave Americans behind, but I had to put the pressure on them, and that's why it was such a big deal to go over there," Mills said during an interview on Fox News. "As I said multiple times, if Biden was unable and unwilling to do his job, then I'm going to step up and do it for him."

Mills and DeSantis have separately organized efforts to help Americans leave, with Mills saying he helped to bring home 96 Americans after traveling to Israel himself last week. DeSantis issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency, which allows him to tap into a broad array of state resources. DeSantis worked with the Tampa-based nonprofit Project DYNAMO, which helps extract Americans stuck abroad. Two charter flights run by DYNAMO carrying a total of 277 Americans arrived in Florida on Sunday evening.

The White House announced last week, after Mills' initial visit to Israel that charter flights would begin and last through at least this Thursday. A U.S.-chartered boat from Israel to Cyprus also left on Monday.

In both cases, U.S. citizens were required to sign a form saying they agree to pay for transportation at a cost "no greater than the amount of a full-fare economy flight, or comparable alternative transportation." By law, the federal government must be reimbursed for these kinds of flights; however, the State Department waived the requirements after Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006.

State told POLITICO, though, that many charter flights are leaving “at half capacity or less” and that U.S.-chartered planes have ferried nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens out of Israel through Monday night. The department said it is not yet able to provide how much the charters will cost, beyond that estimates will be based on fare prices prior to the start of the conflict.

The Biden administration began the charter flights after U.S. airlines stopped service to Israel over safety concerns. Though some other foreign airlines have continued serving Israel, the absence of U.S. air carriers has significantly crimped flight capacity.

Amid those limited flights, a group of Democratic lawmakers in the House has been calling on U.S. airlines to resume flying "as soon as possible to Israel," arguing that the charter flights "are not a long-term solution."

In a statement, Airlines for America, a trade association representing major U.S. airlines, said its carriers have been "voluntarily adding capacity in the region throughout the week and continue to support the federal government’s plan to assist in the movement of U.S. citizens.” United Airlines and American airlines directed questions to the trade group. Delta Air Lines in a statement said it’s monitoring State Department advisories and adjusting its schedules for the safety of both customers and crew “while remaining committed to assisting those needing travel.”

U.S. airlines have temporarily added capacity to European airports, notably Athens, to help bring Americans on charter flights the rest of the way home. But so far no U.S. airline has announced that it would resume service to Tel Aviv until next month at the earliest. The airspace remains open to civilian travel, and while the Federal Aviation Administration is urging caution, U.S. airplanes and pilots are not prohibited from operating there.

But some aviation unions said the Biden administration has a solution at its fingertips — the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a Defense Department program that uses commercial aircraft to perform airlift services.

“This is not a call for the airlines to make,” said Taylor Garland, spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, in a statement. “This program [CRAF] is well-defined and simply requires government activation.”

Calling up the CRAF program, Garland said, would trigger contractual provisions at unionized airlines, such as voluntary assignments and higher pay.

The Defense Department did not respond to requests for comment about whether it might activate the program.

Oriana Pawlyk contributed to this report.