Mitch McConnell offered a strong endorsement on Sunday of the Joe Biden White Houseā€™s $106bn aid proposal to Israel and Ukraine, saying he and the president were essentially ā€œin the same placeā€ on the issue.

McConnell, the powerful Republican leader in the Senate, also rebuffed some of his GOP colleagues in the Senate who have called for a package separating assistance for the two countries, saying it would be ā€œa mistakeā€ during an interview on CBSā€™s Face the Nation.

The Republican leader offered significant backing to the White Houseā€™s $106bn request, including $14bn in assistance to Israel, $60bn in aid to Ukraine and another $14bn to improve security on the US Mexico border. An additional $10bn would be allocated to humanitarian relief as well as an additional $7bn to the Indio-Pacific region.