Nine Republican senators are calling for any additional US aid to Israel and Ukraine to be considered separately as the White House is expected to announce a $100 billion foreign funding request later this week.
GOP lawmakers made the demand in a letter to Senate leadership, arguing that a joint aid package for the two conflicts could create political complications and erode support that war-torn Israel needs.
“Israel is one of America’s greatest allies around the world and we must stand with them in the wake of the Hamas massacre on October 7 in which more than 1,400 Israelis and 30 Americans were brutally murdered,” Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan. ), who drafted the letter, told The Post.
“As we look for ways to help our friends, we expect that soon there will be funding proposals for aid to Israel. My colleagues and I are convinced that any aid to Israel should not be used as leverage to send over tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine. These are two separate conflicts at different levels and cannot be considered a ‘package deal.’”
Roger Marshall demanded that Senate leadership separate Israeli and Ukrainian funding. AP
The letter — also signed by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), JD Vance (R-Ohio), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind. ), Mike Lee (R-Utah ), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) — said: “We urge you to keep separate attempts to provide military aid to Israel from additional funds to Ukraine or anything else.”
It was directed at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), both of whom said they expected the package this week.
Currently, the upcoming proposal is expected to involve $60 billion for Ukraine, and $40 billion for Israel, Taiwan and US border security, NBC News reported.
President Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.ZUMAPRESS.com
In August, President Biden asked Congress for $24 billion to support Ukraine, including $13 billion for security and $7.3 billion for humanitarian and economic aid.
Congress refused to pass the package and instead narrowly avoided a government shutdown at the end of September.
Currently, the House is paralyzed following the Oct. 3 ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), while the Senate is looking to spearhead a funding package.
Senate leaders accompany Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Washington, DC in September.AP
“The house is a bit of a mess,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday. “So we think the best thing to do is pass a strong, big supplement with strong bipartisan support and that might force the House to act.”
So far, Congress has authorized about $113 billion to Ukraine in both humanitarian and military aid, although not all of that money has been spent.
But Biden administration officials warned that funds are running low.
President Biden welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House last month.POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Republicans are increasingly wary about additional aid to Ukraine, but are largely united in wanting to support Israel as it battles Hamas, which killed more than 1,400 people in a surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
“We note that 22 Members of the US House of Representatives wrote to the then-leading candidates for Speaker of the House further urging them to reject attempts to co-opt these issues,” the nine Republican senators said in the letter.
Given Republican skepticism about Ukraine aid, the White House appears to be banking on the possibility that combining funding will improve its chances of passage in Congress.
Biden has downplayed the difficulty of dealing with both conflicts.
“We are the United States of America for God’s sake, the most powerful country in the history — not the world — in the history of the world,” Biden said in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday.
“We have the capacity to do this and we have the obligation to. We are an important country,” continued Biden. “And if we don’t do it, who does it?”
If the measure clears the Senate, it faces an uncertain future in the House, which is currently unable to consider major legislation.
Congress is also grappling with an upcoming November 17 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
