White House preparing funding request that includes Israel, Ukraine aid

The White House is preparing a supplemental funding request that would include billions of dollars for Israel, Ukraine and border security, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The administration is expected to send the request to Congress later this week, after President Biden returns from a trip to Israel. A source said details of the package are not final but that the request would cover a full year.

Biden, delivering remarks in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, confirmed he planned to ask Congress later this week “for an unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense.”

Bloomberg first reported that Biden was considering a supplemental request of roughly $100 billion, which would also include aid to nations in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan.

The White House has in recent days signaled it will go to Congress with a funding request for support for Israel in the aftermath of terror attacks by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, that killed more than 1,300 people. Thousands of Palestinians have died in retaliatory Israeli strikes, and there are broader concerns about a widening conflict and humanitarian crisis in the region.

At the same time, the Biden administration is already seeking additional funding from Congress to support Ukraine in its war effort against invading Russian forces. 

The White House previously sent a supplemental funding request in August that included a total of $24 billion in military, financial and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine.

That same request also sought roughly $4 billion total in supplemental funding for border and migration efforts.

The White House has not explicitly said it will seek to tie all of those areas together in one funding request to Congress, though doing so may increase its chances of passage. 

A small number of House Republicans have been outspoken in their opposition to additional Ukraine aid, while many GOP lawmakers have pushed for a border security package. Meanwhile, lawmakers in both parties have expressed support for aiding Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks.

“We’re in active conversations with Congress about additional funding that we know we need specifically for Israel and Ukraine,” John Kirby, a White House spokesperson on foreign policy, told reporters last week.

Updated at 10:29 a.m.