The President of the United States Joe Biden discussed with the leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties in Congress the prospects for approving a bill that would include additional aid to Israel and Ukraine. This was stated in a statement issued on Sunday by the press service of the White House, TASS reported.
According to the document, Biden, in connection with Iran's strike on Israeli territory, had a conversation with “the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Republicans in the upper house, Mitch McConnell, the chairman of the House Mike Johnson and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries." “During the conversation, the President drew attention to the need for the House of Representatives to quickly approve the request for additional national security funding,”, the statement said.
The US administration has sent a request to Congress for additional appropriations in fiscal year 2024, which began in the United States on October 1, 2023, to provide aid to Israel and Ukraine and to counter China and Russia through the Asia-Pacific region. In total, the executive branch, led by President Joe Biden, would like to receive about $106 billion for these purposes. The further fate of the request and alternative bills remains unclear. Several Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate of Congress have come out in recent months against continuing financial support for Kiev. Johnson has consistently warned of his intention to tie further aid to Ukraine to tighter controls on the US's southern border.