Oct. 18 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will speak to the nation in a televised address Thursday night as his administration prepares to seek billions of dollars from Congress to support both war-torn Israel and Ukraine.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday said the Oval Office address will be delivered at 8 p.m. ET.
Biden’s televised appearance comes amid the brutal conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that began Oct. 7 when militants killed hundreds of Israelis in a cross-border raid, and at a time when Ukraine — at war against an invading Russia — is in need of more aid to continue its yearslong struggle.
Biden reportedly is preparing to ask Congress for billions of dollars to fund U.S. efforts to support Israel, Ukraine and even Indo-Pacific countries, as well as bolstering security along the southern U.S. border.
Biden is completing a quick trip to Israel on Wednesday, during which he expressed steadfast U.S. support for Israel, as well as the need for delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
During that trip, the president voiced his support for Egypt’s decision to allow a limited convoy of supplies to enter the territory despite blockades.
In addition to supporting Israel, the United States has sent tens of billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine, too.
The White House has said that additional support could be slowed without action from Congress. And that’s going to be difficult in the short term because of how a long series of aid packages to Ukraine is a sticking point for many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Washington.
Aid for Ukraine even has served as a factor in the U.S. House of Representatives’ chaotic search for its next speaker, as many Republican lawmakers object to sending more assistance to Ukraine without stricter oversight while others in the party are more hawkish.
While an emergency aid package for Israel has attracted broad bipartisan support in recent days, some lawmakers also have said that it is fiscally irresponsible to financially assist both Israel and Ukraine simultaneously.
Biden, though, has scoffed at that notion.
“We’re the United States of America, for God’s sake,” Biden said during a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday. “The most powerful nation in the history — not in the world, in the history of the world. We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense.”
Biden last used a prime-time address to discuss the U.S debt ceiling.
