WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that a new weapons package for Israel and Ukraine will be significantly higher than $2 billion.
Sullivan, in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” said U.S. President Joe Biden will have intensive talks with the U.S. Congress this week on the need for the package to be approved.
Republicans’ struggles to pick a speaker for the House of Representatives after party hardliners ousted Kevin McCarthy nearly two weeks ago has delayed action on legislation.
Biden has been considering a budget request lumping together aid for Israel, Ukraine and possibly Taiwan to improve the chances of getting it approved amid calls from some Republicans to cut money for Kyiv.
Asked whether the request would be for $2 billion, Sullivan said: “Well, the number is going to be significantly higher than that, but it will, as I said, certainly include the necessary military equipment to defend freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity in Ukraine, and to help Israel defend itself as it fights its terrorist threat.”
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Katherine Jackson and Nandita; Bose; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Heather Timmons)
