Tuberville wants separation of aid for Israel and Ukraine

Sen. Tommy Tuberville has asked that any aid and assistance for Israel not be used to gain additional funding for Ukraine.

In a letter to Senate leadership, Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) wrote the wars are “separate and unrelated conflicts” and should not be linked in funding requests.

This comes after President Biden requested a further $61.4 billion in funding for the eastern European country and then attempted to link it with $14.3 billion in aid for Israel in what Tuberville has called a “package deal.”

The senators began the letter by noting the high rate of fatalities from Hamas’ recent surprise attack on Israel and also addressed the urgent need for aid to the embattled country.

“We write today in the wake of over 1,400 Israeli civilians and at least 30 American citizens having been killed over the last week after brutal Hamas terrorists invaded Israel,” read the letter.

“In response to these developments, it is critical we give prompt consideration to any request for financial aid or other material support requested by Israel. Based on the breadth of responses from members of Congress, there is a shared urgency to consider such a request.”

The letter then cited their reason for separating the funding for the two countries.

“That being said, we know there will no doubt be efforts to attach any funding to Israel to more aid to Ukraine, in excess of the already $113 billion Congress has provided to Ukraine,” the letter read. “These are two separate and unrelated conflicts and it would be wrong to leverage support of aid to Israel in attempt to get additional aid for Ukraine across the finish line.”

They issued a warning that an attempt to combine the aid could result in a possible government shutdown.

“We urge you to keep separate attempts to provide military aid to Israel from additional funds to Ukraine or other matters,” the letter said.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.