Biden to Request $100 Billion for Ukraine and Israel from Congress

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, is planning to address Congress with a new request for a $100 billion aid package, which will include financial assistance for Ukraine and Israel. According to Reuters, the package will also encompass funding for border security and aid to countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan.

This comprehensive approach to seeking assistance for both countries is aimed at garnering support among Republicans in Congress who oppose increasing aid to Ukraine.

The inclusion of border security funding may also help secure the support of Republicans who have long associated foreign aid with addressing the issue of migration in the United States, as they believe there are urgent domestic issues that need attention rather than aiding foreign nations.

The details of this package are still being discussed, and sources from Reuters note that it will cover the entire fiscal year. The previous White House request allocated $24 billion to Ukraine for a three-month period.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that he expects the administration to submit this request "by the end of the week," and it will include military, diplomatic, intelligence, and humanitarian assistance for Israel. He remarked, "We would like to get the additional package as soon as possible because there are significant needs in both Israel and Ukraine."

However, any request from the White House must first be approved by the House of Representatives, and this can only happen after a new Speaker is elected. The scope and requirements of the package are likely to face resistance in the House, where differences within the Republican Party over budget cuts and foreign aid have played a role in the Speaker's race.

Previously, the U.S. President's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, confirmed that the Biden administration plans to approach Congress with a request for financial support for Ukraine and Israel in a single package. There have been discussions about the possibility of combining these requests to increase the chances of approval for Ukraine's support.

During a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, reassured that the U.S. will continue to provide arms to Ukraine and highlighted five key reasons why its defense is important for the West.