The strategy could help secure additional Ukraine funding despite some Republican opposition, said a White House official and two lawmakers.
The Biden administration and key lawmakers in Congress are actively discussing whether aid to Israel could be linked to more funding for Ukraine as a strategy to pass both spending priorities, according to an administration official and two pro-Ukraine Republican lawmakers.
Lawmakers in both parties who support additional aid for Ukraine have suggested the approach as a potential way to secure funding for Kyiv despite opposition from some Republican members in the House and the Senate.
A group of House conservatives has steadfastly opposed new funding for Ukraine, which the White House has requested, and the issue is sure to be a factor in the GOP conference’s high-stakes leadership elections this week. Additional aid for Israel in the wake of Hamas’ brutal attack on Israelis is seen as less likely to face such a struggle in Congress.
The White House is quietly evaluating the political viability of linking aid for Ukraine and Israel, the administration official said, while acknowledging that ultimately the decision will be up to Congress.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Lawmakers in both parties who support additional aid for Ukraine have suggested the approach as a potential way to secure funding for Kyiv despite opposition from some Republican members in the House and the Senate.
The White House is quietly evaluating the political viability of linking aid for Ukraine and Israel, the administration official said, while acknowledging that ultimately the decision will be up to Congress.
The National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, Adm. John Kirby, said Monday, “Both are important, and we are a large enough, big enough, economically viable and vibrant enough country to be able to support both.”
In his call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden vowed to support Israel’s requests in the coming days and weeks, the administration official said.
The short-term spending bill that Biden signed into law last month to avoid a government shutdown didn’t include any new funding for Ukraine, kicking off a debate about how to handle the matter.
McCarthy, who isn’t running again for speaker, declined to say at a news conference Monday whether aid to Israel should be part of a package with funding for Ukraine and border security.
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