President Joe Biden speaks as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate in an expanded bilateral meeting with Israeli and U.S. government officials, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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The Big Story
White House prepares funding request for Israel, Ukraine aid
The White House is preparing a supplemental funding request that would include billions of dollars for Israel, Ukraine and border security.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter say 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 “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 signaled plans to go to Congress to request support for Israel following 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.
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
President Biden will address the nation Thursday about the wars in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas in a prime-time speech from the Oval Office. The White House announced Biden will “address the nation to discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine.” The speech will take place at 8 p.m. ET. The timing of the speech underscores the …
Three drones attacked two separate bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq on Wednesday, resulting in minor injuries to Coalition forces at one location, U.S. defense officials said. In the first attack, which came early Wednesday, American troops intercepted two drones in western Iraq. “An attempted attack against U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq was disrupted in the early morning of Oct. 18,” Col. Sean Heidgerken said in …
The U.S. targeted Iran’s missile and unmanned aerial vehicle programs in new sanctions Wednesday. “Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 11 individuals, eight entities, and one vessel based in Iran, Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Venezuela that are enabling Iran’s destabilizing ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs,” a Treasury …
In the wake of a deadly hospital blast in Gaza that reportedly left hundreds dead Tuesday, protests erupted across the Middle East. In Jordan, protestors attempted to storm the Israeli embassy. In Cairo, a small group of protestors were spotted near the U.K. and U.S. embassies — pushing for the country to break off ties with Israel. Protests and fighting also erupted between along the border between Lebanon and Israel. All …
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on “The findings of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States” at 9:30 a.m.
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe will discuss “Supporting Israel and Ukraine against terror” at 2 p.m.
In Other News
Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
Intel, defense officials tell senators that Israel did not strike hospital
U.S. intelligence and defense officials told senators at a classified briefing Wednesday that Israel is not responsible for a blast that reportedly killed hundreds of people at a hospital in Gaza, contradicting earlier media reports and claims from Hamas that an Israeli airstrike caused the carnage. …
A New York judge asked former President Trump to pipe down after he grew animated while a witness testified against him in his civil fraud trial. Judge … Read more
Fifteen days after Kevin McCarthy was removed as House Speaker, the chamber remains at a standstill and will not hold another vote to find a leader … Read more
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