Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss a supplemental funding request for $105 billion to aid Ukraine and Israel, to contain China’s influence. to invest in defense manufacturing in the U.S., and to both manage the influx of migrants at the border while providing humanitarian aid to them.
The funding request was already a tough sell — it has faced many challenges, including the three weeks that the House of Representatives could not function because there was no Speaker of the House. It is considered a crucial piece of the Democratic strategy for international affairs and national security, but was made more challenging when pro-Palestinian protesters came into the room and yelled “Murderer!” and “Cease-fire now!” at Blinken.
Speaking to the Committee, he said the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 was something he had “never seen” before, recounting “young people chased down and gunned down at a dance party with, as you said, children executed in front of their parents, parents executed in front of their children, families in a final embrace, burned alive, people beheaded.” He said it was “extraordinary the extent to which that day has receded in memory for so many.”
