President Biden will ask Congress to approve an additional $13 billion in security funding for Ukraine later Thursday, a source told The Associated Press.
Biden was widely expected to make a request for additional Ukraine support Thursday afternoon. The Biden administration is also expected to request $12 billion to refill federal disaster relief funds.
If approved, the additional Ukraine funding will set the total U.S. contributions to the country’s war effort at more than $123 billion.
The request comes as many Americans and some members of Congress are becoming more skeptical of large funding grants for Ukraine.
Biden last requested a major Ukraine funding drop in November 2022, and Congress agreed to send more than he asked for. The Republican-led House of Representatives may pose a threat to such a breezy approval this time.
“It’s definitely a very big point of contention,” a senior House GOP aide told Fox News Digital of the funding request on Wednesday.
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has also promised his narrow majority that he would not bring a supplemental Ukraine funding bill to the floor. Many conservatives, still bristling from McCarthy’s debt limit deal with President Biden, have been vocally opposed to giving Kyiv more money without more accountability.
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Biden’s funding push comes as Ukraine is continuing to mount a counteroffensive against the Russian invaders. Ukrainian troops have so for found little success, however, stymied by minefields and entrenched Russian forces.
The country’s offensive relies almost entirely on Western-provided equipment, including German-made Leopard II tanks and U.S.-provided artillery and air defenses.
The U.S. is still working to provide M1 Abrams tanks, and Ukrainian pilots are also being trained to operate F-16 fighter jets.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.