Senators were caught flat-footed by President Donald Trump’s reported decision to pause military aid to Ukraine, with few quick answers for what could come next.
“I don’t know if anything can be done,” Sen. Thom Tillis said when asked about the stop. “What we’ve got to do is build a case for more.”
The president’s reported move comes after a tense conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy broke down last week at the White House. The U.S. is pausing and reviewing military aid to ensure it contributes to a solution to the war in Ukraine, a White House official told multiple news outlets.
Congress has already approved the funding the White House now intends to pause.
“We must continue to support Ukraine militarily, and there is a legal and moral obligation to use the money that’s already been appropriated,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal told NOTUS.
Blumenthal, a senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a longtime supporter of Ukraine said he wants Congress to take action to counter the decision.
“I’m hopeful that my Republican colleagues would at the very least say we must use the money they’ve already voted to approve,” he said.
But he may not find enough support.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, said Trump’s move marks the end of the U.S. backing the Ukrainian government for the past three years.
“I don’t think it’s any big deal,” Tuberville told NOTUS. “We gotta get this over with.”
Republicans aren’t unified on the issue.
“I’d be very disappointed if that occurred,” Sen. Mike Rounds told NOTUS when asked about the aid stop.
Trump is publicly keeping options open after his meeting with Zelenskyy. Trump said on Monday that a minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine originally meant to be signed last Friday is still possible.
“I think the minerals deal would be beneficial for both countries,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters. “I told President Zelenskyy, ‘Do the minerals deal, see if we can get an arms package, and we’ll talk about a good ending to the war.’ That’s the sequence.”
Graham said he hadn’t heard anything about stopping military aid already appropriated by Congress, but said Zelenskyy’s public comments about security guarantees and a longer war with Russia would make it more difficult to negotiate.
“In order to have peace, we need to get that minerals deal done,” Rounds said of the deal. “I think everybody wants to see it move forward. We want peace, but we also want Ukraine to be protected.”
Now, with aid on hold and European nations already planning to step in to fill the gap, some in Congress are worried about the way forward.
“Ukrainians aren’t going to survive,” Sen. Mark Kelly said. “They need that security assistance.”
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John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.