Lawmakers in both parties are pressing the Defense Department to swiftly execute hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance for European allies and partners.
Defense hawks for weeks have been pushing the Pentagon to move out on $400 million in Ukraine support. But it wasn’t until recent days that DOD’s delayed release of $200 million in funds for the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became public knowledge.
Leading military officials have faulted the way appropriators wrote the FY2026 defense spending bill for causing the holdup. But Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, dismissed the rationale Thursday as “excuses” for not bolstering Ukraine.
