US President Joe Biden could veto the US budget bill if the budget does not include funds for assistance to Ukraine, according to John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, the European Pravda reported.
At the briefing, John Kirby gave a concise answer to the question of whether Joe Biden is ready to veto the budget bill if Congress does not include support for Ukraine in the bill.
“I think we’ve been very clear about how deeply troubling the House Republican bill is and how it doesn’t meet our national security needs,” John Kirby said commenting on the possibility of excluding the assistance to Ukraine from the budget bill. “And as Commander-in-Chief, the President will never do anything that doesn’t meet our key national security needs,” Kirby added.
Earlier in October, US President Joe Biden requested US Congress to allocate almost $105 billion to support the security needs of Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the US southern border.
The most significant request in this package amounted to more than $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine. The Biden Administration also called for additional aid worth $14.3 billion for Israel, an assistance package worth $2 billion for Taiwan, and over $9 billion for humanitarian aid.
However, the newly elected Speaker of the House, Republican Mike Johnson, said last week that the assistance to Ukraine and Israel must be divided and included in separate bills.
On 30 October, Republicans in the US House of Representatives introduced a bill to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel separately from Ukraine.
Related:
- Biden asks Congress for $105 billion to support Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
- Supporting Israel and Ukraine is vital to US security, Biden says
