Blinken defends bypassing Congress to sell weapons to Israel and presses lawmakers to help Ukraine

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is defending the emergency sale to Israel of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition. And he’s pressing for quick congressional approval of more than $100 billion in aid for Israel, Ukraine and other national security priorities. Blinken said in interviews on the Sunday news shows that the needs of Israel’s military operations in Gaza justified the rare decision to bypass Congress. The decision to proceed with the sale of more than $106 million for tank shells came as the Biden administration’s larger aid package is caught up in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security.