Blinken And Austin To Testify To Senate On Biden's USD$106B Request

09:30 ET 13:30 GMT: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are shortly due to deliver testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee on President Biden’s USD$106 billion national security request. LIVESTREAM

• Biden's request includes military and humanitarian aid for a range of foreign policy priorities including Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the US-Mexico border. Breakdown of the package, per Reuters: LINK
• The testimony comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) decision to advance a package of Israel aid independent of the White House request has created uncertainty over the future of the package in Congress. See today's edition of the MNI US Daily Brief for analysis of how Johnson's Israel plan could imperil Ukraine aid and raise the risk of a government shutdown.
• The Senate Appropriations Committee is generally supportive of the White House package so the Secretaries are unlikely to face the same scrutiny they would in the House or Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who sits on the panel and is a vocal advocate for Biden's package, said in a speech yesterday: “Right now, the Senate has a chance to produce supplemental assistance that will help us do exactly that. Enemies abroad will be watching closely and waiting for America to falter. Only our concrete and credible support can deter our adversaries in the future and restore security.”