Biden Requests $106 Billion for Israel, Ukraine, Border

  • Request includes $14.3 billion to boost Israel defenses
  • Ongoing impasse over House Speaker creates hurdle to passage

Joe Biden

Photographer: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/Bloomberg
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President Joe Biden unveiled a nearly $106 billion request for emergency funds to arm Israel and Ukraine and to reinforce the US-Mexico border, in hopes that a comprehensive package could help speed passage through the fractured political climate on Capitol Hill.

The bulk of the supplemental request detailed Friday – and perhaps the biggest hurdle — is a $61.4 billion ask for a year’s worth of assistance for Ukraine in its effort to turn back Russia’s invasion. Aid for Ukraine has divided Republican lawmakers and become a central sticking point in the ongoing fight to name a new House speaker, which must be resolved before any legislation can move forward.