President Joe Biden told Americans on Thursday night that American leadership “brings the world together” and that the United States must deepen its Ukraine support and Israel Caught in the middle of two very different, unpredictable and bloody wars.
Acknowledging that “these conflicts seem far away,” Biden insisted in a rare Oval Office address that they remain “critical to America’s national security” as he prepares to ask Congress for billions in funding for both countries. dollars in military aid.
“History tells us that when terrorists don’t pay the price for their terror, and when dictators don’t pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos, more death and more destruction,” Biden said. “They continue to move forward. The costs and threats to the United States and the world continue to rise.”
Biden’s speech reflected his broad views on U.S. obligations abroad at a time when he faces political resistance at home to additional funding. He is expected to request $105 billion on Friday, including $60 billion for Ukraine, much of which would replenish weapons stockpiles provided by the United States earlier.
Additionally, there is $14 billion for Israel, $10 billion for unspecified humanitarian efforts, $14 billion for managing the U.S.-Mexico border and combating fentanyl trafficking, and $7 billion for countries including Taiwan. Indo-Pacific region. The proposal was described by three people familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.
“This is a smart investment that will pay dividends in American security for generations,” Biden said.
He hopes to combine all these issues into one piece of legislation, building the necessary coalition for congressional approval.His speech was delivered the next day His trip to Israel is riskyAt the meeting, he expressed solidarity with the country following the Hamas attack on October 7 and pushed for more humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
As Israel continues to bomb Gaza and prepares for a ground invasion, Biden has doubled down on the conflict’s deadly toll on local civilians, saying he was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian lives.”
“Israel and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity and peace,” Biden said. He also warned of the rising tide of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the United States, noting that Wadia Alfayoumi killeda 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy.
“To all of you who are hurting, I want you to know that I see you. You belong,” Biden said. “I want to say this to you. You are all Americans.”
The White House said the president and first lady Jill Biden spoke by phone with Wadia’s father and uncle after the speech to express their “deepest condolences” and pray for the recovery of the boy’s mother, who was stabbed.
In his speech, Biden issued a warning to Iranian leaders who support Hamas in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying the United States “will continue to hold them accountable.”
Biden seeks re-election in race that could hinge on How voters feel about the economyHe was careful to stress that the spending would create jobs for American workers, citing missile manufacturing in Arizona and artillery shell manufacturing in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas.
He paid tribute to one of his political heroes, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, saying that “just like World War II,” the country was “building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom.”
Biden faces a series of serious challenges in trying to secure the funding.House remains in disarray as Republican majority Can’t select speakers Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from office more than two weeks ago.
Additionally, conservative Republicans oppose sending more weapons to Ukraine as it approaches two years of fighting a Russian invasion.Biden’s previous funding requests, including $24 billion to help fight in coming months, stripped last month’s budget legislation although personal request From Ukrainian President Zelensky.
There will be resistance from some on the other side of the political spectrum when it comes to providing military aid to Israel. Israel has been bombing Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas attack.
Critics accuse Israel of indiscriminately killing civilians and committing war crimes by cutting off basic supplies of food, water and fuel.
Bipartisan support for Israel has waned in recent years as progressive Democrats have become more outspoken in their opposition to Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories, which is widely viewed internationally as illegal.
There are also divisions within the Biden administration. Josh Paul, a State Department official in the congressional liaison office that handles foreign arms sales, resigned over U.S. policy on arms transfers to Israel.
“I cannot support a series of major policy decisions, including committing more weapons to one side of the conflict, which I believe is short-sighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the values we publicly espouse,” he said. read a statement posted on his LinkedIn account.
An Oval Office speech is one of the most prestigious platforms a president can control and an opportunity to try to capture the nation’s attention in a time of crisis. Major television networks broke into regular programming to broadcast the speech live.
Biden delivers on promise There was only one such speech During his presidency, Congress passed bipartisan budget legislation to avoid defaulting on the national debt.
The White House and other senior administration officials, including Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, have quietly briefed key lawmakers in recent days on the outlines of a planned supplemental funding request.
The Democratic Senate plans to move quickly on Biden’s proposal, hoping it will put pressure on the Republican-controlled House to resolve its leadership drama and return to legislation.
However, there are also divisions within the Senate over how to move forward. Eight Republicans, led by Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, said they did not want to combine aid to Ukraine and Israel into the same legislation.
“These are two separate and unrelated conflicts, and it would be wrong to use aid support for Israel to try to provide additional aid to Ukraine,” they wrote in a letter.
North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said he would agree with the proposal as long as there are new efforts to address border issues. But he said, “It must be designed to secure the border, not to facilitate cross-border travel.”
Although the number of immigrants entering the United States has decreased since the start of the new coronavirus epidemic New asylum restrictions in MayLast month, there were more than 8,000 illegal border crossings per day.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who leads a Senate panel that oversees funding for the Department of Homeland Security, sounded cautious during the spending debate about any efforts to reform border policy.
“How are we going to resolve our differences on immigration in the next two weeks?” Murphy said. “This is a supplemental funding bill. Once you start loading policy into it, it sounds like a failed plan.”
Biden’s decision to include funding for the Indo-Pacific in his proposal is a nod to the possibility of another international conflict. China hopes to unify the self-governing island of Taiwan with its mainland, a goal that can be achieved through force.
While wars in Europe and the Middle East have been the most immediate focus of U.S. foreign policy, Biden sees Asia as a key arena in the battle for global influence.
The National Security Strategy released by the U.S. government last year described China as “the United States’ most important geopolitical challenge.”
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