WASHINGTON — Officials in President Joe Biden's administration have privately told lawmakers that the White House is preparing a supplemental funding request to submit to Congress that includes money for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and U.S. border security, according to two congressional officials, an administration official and a defense official.
Administration officials also said the request would aim to address the strain that providing additional military support for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan would put on the Defense Department’s stockpiles, the sources said, by asking for money to build more weapons.
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Biden said Tuesday that “when Congress returns, we’re going to ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners.”
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Tuesday that the Office of Management and Budget is drafting the supplemental request.
“What exact form that all takes, that will be worked out,” Sullivan said.
At the White House news briefing Wednesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby addressed the possibility of putting all the funding requests together, telling reporters "active conversations" are going on.
"I’m not prepared to detail those conversations for you right now or, or tell you what the parameters are going to be, because, frankly, those parameters haven’t been yet arrived at or even decided upon, but we are in active discussions about additional funding," he said.
The White House and some key lawmakers have been discussing linking Ukraine and Israel aid. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, has said he’s open to a package that includes aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, as well as funding for additional security at the U.S.-Mexico border.
But some House Republicans have expressed opposition to the idea.
Biden administration officials have held multiple briefings for lawmakers this week, including with acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Sasha Baker and Morgan Muir, the deputy director for mission integration at the national intelligence director’s office.
