US President Joe Biden sent a request to Congress on Monday for $24 billion in aid to Ukraine, writes Politico.
The Biden administration wants to add new expenses to the government funding package that lawmakers may pass in December, the publication reported, citing a document from the White House Office of Management and Budget. Of the $24 billion, $8 billion will go towards providing aid to Ukraine, specifically for financing contracts of American companies for the supply of weapons. The remaining $16 billion should go towards replenishing US weapons stockpiles.
Congress could include this aid in the package of decisions to avoid the risk of stopping support with the change of presidential administration. However, some Republicans have already expressed outrage over the report of the request. For example, Senator Mike Lee — a Republican from Utah. “Joe Biden just gave away $4.7 billion of taxpayers' money, unilaterally ‘forgiving’ loans to Ukraine. Congress should not give him a free gift on the way out for further sabotaging President Trump's peace negotiations. Any of Biden's funding requests should be rejected,” — he wrote on the social network X.
As Politico writes, the chances of this additional aid package for Ukraine being approved in Congress are “slim.”