Biden readies spending package of over $2 billion including aid for Israel, Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is preparing a funding package worth significantly more than $2 billion, which will include military aid for Ukraine and Israel, national security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Oct. 15.
Sullivan said in an interview with CBS' Face the Nation program that the White House will lead intensive talks with Congress in the following week to secure approval for the package.
The media reported earlier that the Biden Administration and leading members of Congress are preparing an aid package of $2 billion for Israel, a long-standing ally currently embroiled in a war with Hamas in Gaza.
According to NBC News, the White House seeks to bundle funding for Israel with money for Ukraine, Taiwan, and other purposes, as assistance for Kyiv is encountering opposition from far-right lawmakers.
When asked whether the new support tranche will be worth $2 billion, Sullivan said that "the number is going to be significantly higher than that."
"But it will, as I said, certainly include the necessary military equipment to defend freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in Ukraine and to help Israel defend itself as it fights its terrorist foes."
The aid for Ukraine has recently become a focal point of a legislative battle in Congress, which resulted in the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. A hardline faction of the Republican Party grows increasingly critical of the level of support Washington provides to Ukraine.
