WASHINGTON (AP) — President will deliver a rare Oval Office address Thursday night to advocate for providing military assistance to Israel and Ukraine, intensifying American involvement in two distinct and unpredictable bloody foreign conflicts.
This speech presents an opportunity for Biden to argue that the United States has a responsibility to offer aid in both situations and gives him a platform to lobby lawmakers publicly for the necessary funding.
The funding request, anticipated to be officially revealed on Friday, is estimated to be around $100 billion for the upcoming year, according to anonymous sources familiar with the proposal. This figure includes funds for Taiwan’s defense and managing the flow of migrants at the southern border with Mexico.
Biden hopes that consolidating all of these issues into a single piece of legislation will garner the required political support for congressional approval. His address follows his recent high-stakes trip to Israel, where he expressed solidarity with the country and pushed for increased humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
However, Biden faces numerous challenges as he seeks to secure the funding. The House is in turmoil due to the Republican majority’s inability to select a speaker following the ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy more than two weeks ago.
In addition, conservative Republicans oppose providing further weaponry to Ukraine as it continues to battle against the Russian invasion, which has been ongoing for nearly two years. Biden’s previous funding request for Ukraine, including $24 billion for the next few months of fighting, was removed from the budget legislation last month, despite a personal plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The White House has warned that time is running out to prevent Ukraine, which has been struggling with a grueling counteroffensive, from losing ground to Russia due to dwindling supplies of weapons.
Similarly, there will be opposition from the other end of the political spectrum regarding military assistance for Israel, which has been engaged in a bombardment of the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
Critics have accused Israel of indiscriminate killing of civilians and war crimes by cutting off essential supplies such as food, water, and fuel.
Support for Israel has already dwindled among progressive Democrats in recent years, who have become increasingly vocal in their opposition to the country’s occupation of Palestinian territory, viewed as illegal by the international community.
Disagreements within Biden’s administration are also beginning to surface. Josh Paul, a State Department official overseeing foreign arms sales to Israel, resigned in protest over the decision to increase military assistance after the attack on Oct. 7.
“I cannot support a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be short-sighted, destructive, unjust, and contradictory to the values we publicly espouse,” he wrote in a statement.
Paul is believed to be the first official to resign in opposition to the administration’s decision. During his visit to Tel Aviv, Biden assured Israel that they would not be alone but cautioned against being consumed by rage, drawing comparisons to the United States’ response to the 9/11 attacks.
Delivering a speech from the Oval Office is a highly prestigious platform for a president, providing an opportunity to capture the country’s attention during a moment of crisis. Major news networks have announced their intention to broadcast the address live.
This will be only Biden’s second speech from the Oval Office during his presidency. The White House and other senior administration officials have briefed key lawmakers about the planned supplemental funding request, which will be formally unveiled on Friday.
The Senate aims to move swiftly on Biden’s request in the hopes of pressuring the Republican-controlled House to resolve its leadership issues and resume legislative activities.
Border security is likely to be a contentious topic during spending discussions. After a lull in migrant arrivals following new asylum restrictions in May, illegal border crossings exceeded a daily average of 8,000 last month.
“There’s a huge need to reimburse for the costs of processing,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who oversees funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
Biden’s inclusion of funding for Taiwan in the proposal acknowledges the potential for another international conflict, as China seeks reunification with the self-governing island.
While wars in Europe and the Middle East have dominated U.S. foreign policy concerns, Biden recognizes the significance of Asia in the struggle for global influence.
The administration’s national security strategy identifies China as “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge.”
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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Mary Clare Jalonick and AP media writer David Bauder contributed to this report.
