On his way out of the White House, President Biden is reportedly making a last-minute plea to Congress for $24 billion in aid for war-torn Ukraine to bolster its military support and replenish US stocks that had dwindled.
The White House Office of Management and Budget suggested that Congress could fold the renewed aid into its solution to avert a government shutdown next month, according to a request obtained by Politico Pro.
Several lawmakers saw the proposal Monday and it features $8 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to fund US company contracts to arm Kyiv and $16 billion to refill US weaponry stock, per the report.
Already, some Republicans cried foul over the reported ask.
“Joe Biden just gave away 4.7 billion in your taxpayer dollars by unilaterally “forgiving” loans to Ukraine. Congress must not give him a free gift to further sabotage President Trump’s peace negotiations on the way out the door. Any Biden funding demands should be DOA,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted on X.
Last week, the Biden administration informed Congress of its intention to also forgive $4.65 billion worth of Ukrainian debt.
“President Biden will make the case that we do need ongoing resources for Ukraine beyond the end of his term,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” earlier this month.
“The threat to Ukraine will remain no matter what exactly happens on the battlefield or at the negotiating table, and the United States should not walk away from its commitment, either to Ukraine or to 50 nations that we have rallied in defense of Ukraine in both Europe and Asia.”
US lawmakers last passed a major tranche of aid to the beleaguered ally back in April, nearly nine months after Biden’s first request in August of last year.
After the lower chamber wrangled through the $61 billion Ukraine aid, that was nestled in a larger $95 billion package, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) moved to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
Ultimately, Democrats lept to his rescue, but the ordeal underscores the dicey politics of furnishing new aid to Ukraine.
That package also entailed about $10 billion in economic loans for Kyiv.
Republican fiscal hawks have long grumbled about requests to rubber stamp more spending without deeper reforms.
Congress is currently staring down the barrel of a Dec. 20 deadline to avert a government shutdown either through a temporary spending patch or the traditional appropriations process.
Biden’s reported entreaty also comes amid uncertainty over the future of the US approach to the bloody war unfolding half a world away in Ukraine.
President-elect Donald Trump has crowed about how he could end the bloodshed within 24 hours and has signaled a strong interest in negotiating an end to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians have been beset by losses on their eastern front as Russia gains ground in the Donbas region.
Earlier this month, Biden gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky permission to use long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to hit targets deep within Russian territory.
That came in the wake of revelations that North Korea had deployed some 10,000 troops to help Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor.
Ukrainians had long pleaded with the US for laxer restrictions on the weapons it was supplied, complaining that the Kremlin was able to stash key military equipment, supply lines, ammunition depots and other critical assets within its territory, off-limits for Ukrainian forces.
The Post contacted the White House, Pentagon and Trump reps for comment.