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Watch: Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin testify on Biden’s $106 billion funding request

Sophie Thompson
Tuesday 31 October 2023 13:26 GMT
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Watch live: Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin testify on Biden’s $106 billion funding request

US secretary of state Antony Blinken and secretary of defence Lloyd Austin testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee over Joe Biden’s $106 billion supplemental funding request.

It’s thought that most of the money will be going to help Ukraine build out their defence system against Russia, while the rest will be split between Israwl, Indo-Pacific, and border enforcement.

Biden’s hopes that $61 billion of the money, for Ukraine, will be the last time he has to ask before the 2024 election, however, congressional support on the matter is very much divided.

House speaker Mike Johnson has stated he doesn’t think that Ukraine and Israel’s funding should be combined, while other Republicans want a trade-off for the money in the form of bigger border security spending inside the US.

Blinken and Austin took questions on the matter, and they are both huge advocates for getting the green light.

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