Biden’s $100 BILLION aid package would bolster Israel and Ukraine

• President Biden is returning from Israel after 7-hour visit
• Package would aid Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and deal with the border 
• Israel reportedly seeking $10B; US has provided more than $100B to Ukraine 

Key Republican senators say the $100 billion spending package the Biden administration is preparing to send to lawmakers will include funds to bolster Israel and Ukraine – while also steering money to cities like New York and Chicago that are feeling the effects of the immigration crisis.

The administration is expected to send the package within days, as President Biden returns from his seven-hour trip to Israel amid rising tensions over the Gaza hospital explosion.

The administration has signaled it will include both border money and border policy provisions, not all of which will be welcome among Senate Republicans who will be critical to passage.

Border provisions have ‘got to be meaningful, and not just throw money at sanctuary cities, which is what the Democrats want to do. And that’s kind of what the White House has proposed,’ said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).

Thune, the Senate minority whip, said a basis for the proposal was a package to send about $4 billion to so-called ‘sanctuary cities’ that are getting slammed by the migrant crisis, in part after GOP governors began bussing migrants to northern cities and town.

Thune ran down the idea as ‘$4 billion that was going to be going to these New Yorks and Chicagos,’ calling it ‘basically a sanctuary city money to help with relocation of migrants,’ in reference to cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

‘And, you know, obviously, our folks are going to want something that deals with the border itself, and making it more secure,’ he told DailyMail.com Wednesday.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, told DailyMail.com that border policy and spending would be among the four pillars of the spending request.

‘I expect it will have a lot of money to help Ukraine fight Russian aggression, funding to help Israel fight Hamas, funding to send a signal to China about Taiwan. And some sort of increases in funding and policy changes, perhaps, on the border.’ 

The funds for Israel are expected to be a powerful engine that could drive any package, although many House Republicans have railed against additional funding for Ukraine. 

Asked if there was wisdom in tying all four elements of the package together, Collins, who was elected in 1996, responded: ‘Yes, I do.’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week Republicans want the package to include ‘something serious’ for the border. 

The package, which would provide a year’s worth to American funding at a time of global turmoil, would also bolster Taiwan as it seeks to stave off a feared invasion from China.

Biden is expected to ask lawmakers for at least that amount. Collins said the formal request would come this week.

The challenge will be getting Biden’s coming spending request through a divided Congress, where House Republicans – currently without a speaker – have raised serious concerns about billions in support for Ukraine.

‘The Senate must go first — I know that the House is in disarray, but we cannot wait for them,’ Senate Majority Leader Schumer said this week. ‘The needs are too great, and if we pass a strong package, with strong bipartisan support, it will import to in the House somehow or other to act despite the morass they are in.’

He has also said border provisions will be included, in a move seen in part as an effort to garner Republican support. 

The extent of the package was being floated just as Biden touched down in Israel Wednesday, after a massive explosion at a hospital in Gaza caused the cancelation of a planned visit to Jordan to meet with Arab leaders.

Biden during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to continue to support Israel to prevent ‘more tragedy.’

The White House declined to comment on the details of the emerging package. 

Biden spoke with emotion about the October 7 Hamas terror attack inside Israel. 

‘In the wake of Hamas’ appalling terrorist assault – brutal, inhumane, almost beyond belief what they did – this cabinet came together and standing strong, standing united and I want you to know you are not alone,’ he said. 

‘You are not alone. As I emphasized earlier, we will continue to have Israel’s back as you continue to protect your people.’

Biden may consider a supplemental request of about $100 billion that would include defense aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, multiple sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Tuesday.

Biden has been widely expected to ask Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill within days, as Washington responds to the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants while looking to continue to support Ukraine as it grapples with a Russian invasion.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, the administration has been grappling with how to try to move additional aid to Israel, and whether to tie it to a stalled Ukraine package. 

The news broke as Biden prepared to depart for Tel Aviv and Amman to show support for Israel and also to meet leaders of Jordan and Egypt on the Gaza humanitarian crisis

U.S. Senate leaders had said earlier on Tuesday they expected Biden to send them a request by the end of this week for billions of dollars in assistance for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and for security at the U.S. border.

Administration officials have been working on the request for weeks.

Senator Ben Cardin, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he had not yet seen a specific figure for the supplemental request, but would not be surprised if it was as large as $100 billion.

‘I hope it’s enough to get us through 2024,’ Cardin told Reuters.

He said he thought it had a good chance of passing the Senate with support from both Biden’s fellow Democrats and Republicans. ‘I think this is our best shot to get it done,’ Cardin said.

A congressional source familiar with the request said Israel had asked for $10 billion, as it responds to an attack on its citizens by the Iran-backed militant group Hamas. Israel already receives $3.8 billion per year from the United States, under a 10-year agreement that began in 2016.