A senior Pentagon official explained to Bloomberg on Monday that President Donald Trump ordered a pause on military aid to Ukraine. The decision created bipartisan panic in the Senate.
Unsurprisingly, most of the public criticism of Trump’s halt to aid to Kiev came from the Democrats. “This act of retribution against our ally, who is on the frontlines defending freedom and democracy, is not only shameful—it is dangerous,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “I urge the administration to reverse course and remember that America’s values lie with the free world, not autocrats and murderous dictators.”
Many US politicians have invoked “America’s values” to argue that sending hundreds of billions in lethal aid to Ukraine is necessary. However, the country’s founding fathers explicitly warned against entangling alliances with far-flung nations and “searching the world for monsters to destroy.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) was among several Democrats who took to X to express their dissent.
Trump is inviting a military catastrophe&humanitarian nightmare—suspending aid for air defense against Russia’s bloody slaughter of civilians as well as arms necessary for battle worn soldiers to hold the line against brutal attacks. His withholding this aid is illegal&immoral. https://t.co/0itBFqTkWS
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) March 4, 2025
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) asserted that Trump’s decision was a signal to all US allies that Washington is not to be trusted. “The only people celebrating this decision tonight are leaders in Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.” A statement from his office continued, “By abandoning our partners in Ukraine, President Trump has sent a signal to every one of our allies that we cannot be trusted, and to every one of our adversaries that America’s word means nothing.”
Independent Senator Angus King, who caucuses with the Dems, similarly insisted that ending aid to Kiev was a historic blunder. “This war is not just about supporting Ukraine’s people and stopping Putin’s unprovoked attack — it is about our country’s national and economic interests,” he wrote on X. “If we walk away from Ukraine, it will be the greatest geopolitical mistake this country has made since World War II.”
Some experts disagree with King’s view and argue that NATO expansion after the fall of the USSR was a mistake. George Kennan, the man responsible for crafting America’s Cold War strategy, explained in 1998 that NATO’s growth would mark “the beginning of a new cold war. I think the Russians will gradually react quite adversely and it will affect their policies. I think it is a tragic mistake. There was no reason for this whatsoever.”
He added, “Of course there is going to be a bad reaction from Russia, and then [the NATO expanders] will say that we always told you that is how the Russians are — but this is just wrong.“
A number of Republicans joined Democrats across the aisle in slamming the halt to Ukraine aid.
“Look, if I am Putin, I’m loving a pause. I’m plussing up troops at the border. I’m trying to get more drones from Iran. I’m trying to get more crap from North Korea, I’m getting the illicit money coming from China, and I’m loving a pause, and I’m loving a cessation of a resupply to Ukraine,“ wrote North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis.
GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine also said the decision to cut aid was a mistake. “I do not think we should be pausing our efforts,“ she stated. “It’s the Ukrainians who are shedding blood.“
House Republican Don Bacon echoed those criticisms. “Too bad Iran, North Korea and China are not pausing their military aid and economic support,” he argued. “There is an invader and a victim, there is a democracy and a dictatorship, there is a country who wants to be part of the West and one who hates the West. We should be unambiguously for the good side.”
Trump did receive support from one senator, however, with Mike Lee (R-UT) encouraging his followers on X to express their support for the decision to pause aid.
If you think it’s time to cancel Ukraine aid, respond with “” https://t.co/vDRd62bcUw
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 3, 2025
