President Donald Trump’s extraordinary meeting on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European power brokers broached a touchy subject that Congress will have lots of thoughts about — security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelensky told reporters following Monday’s session that U.S. involvement in this effort is critical to any Russian-Ukrainian peace deal.
“It is important that the United States of America sends a clear signal that they will be among the countries that will help coordinate and will also be participants in the security guarantee for Ukraine,” Zelensky said during a press conference in Lafayette Park across from the White House. “I believe that this is a big step forward. I cannot yet say how all the details will be.”
Trump said on Truth Social, “During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America.”
Standing with Zelensky, Trump also told reporters, “We will give them very good protection, very good security. That’s part of it.” Trump didn’t offer more details, however. Trump was caught on a hot mic saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a deal.
Yet the concept of an American guarantee of Ukraine’s borders or independence against potential future Russian aggression raises a host of questions for a war-weary — and increasingly isolationist — Congress.
Will the United States have boots on the ground inside Ukraine? Will Americans be asked to supply new shipments of weapons to buttress Ukraine’s military, and who will pay for that? What will the shape of the U.S. presence be in the region for years — potentially decades — to come?
Trump is facilitating a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, a session Trump would be willing to join. Trump even called Putin during Monday’s discussions.
The Trump effect. Over his near decade in power, Trump has dramatically reshaped Republican foreign policy, charting a 180-degree shift from its hawkish Cold War positions. In the post-9/11 era and even into Barack Obama’s presidency, Republicans supported efforts to spread democracy by nearly any means, including unyielding support for the long American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Trump has gone so far as to consider withdrawing the United States from NATO, shutting down embassies overseas and slashing foreign aid. Ending U.S. military support for Ukraine has been a key “America First” tenet for the MAGA movement.
Now, Trump may create a new American peacekeeping role in order to help end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Trump’s top negotiator, Steve Witkoff, floated an “Article 5-like” approach for Ukraine following the president’s Friday meeting with Putin. This is a reference to the NATO charter, which requires every member-nation to step in to defend another that is attacked.
But it’s hard to see how having U.S. forces inside Ukraine would be acceptable to Trump’s MAGA base. And it could land like an absolute thud with a Congress that’s been wary of spending more money on Ukraine, let alone greenlighting U.S. troops.
We’ll note that Republicans were mostly silent following the end of Monday’s talks other than praising Trump for trying to end the war. For its part, the White House released quotes from Zelensky and other European leaders praising Trump under the heading “American Leadership is Back Under President Trump.”
Interestingly, a top Democratic senator praised Trump for his openness to a Ukrainian security guarantee.
“I am encouraged by President Trump’s recognition that an agreement will require U.S.-backed security guarantees and continued assistance to safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
On the Hill, there are several proposals intended to discourage Putin from further attacks on Ukraine.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced the PEACE Act last month, which would establish a new fund for NATO allies to finance the transfer of U.S. weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
This would essentially codify Trump’s proposal to have European nations pay for the weapons. It would also give NATO members another way to boost their defense spending, in line with the alliance’s new 5% target.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that the Senate “stands ready” to give Trump “any economic leverage needed to keep Russia at the table to negotiate a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” This is presumably a reference to the stalled sanctions bill from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), which has nearly 90 co-sponsors.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio ruled out the idea of additional sanctions on Sunday, saying it would mean the end of the existing peace talks with Russia.
D.C. crisis: Roughly 2,000 National Guard troops are now deployed or heading to D.C. as part of Trump’s efforts to combat the “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital.
This includes 800 National Guard troops from D.C., plus troops from six red states – Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
In addition, Trump has ordered in hundreds of law-enforcement officers from an array of federal agencies including the Homeland Security Department, ICE, FBI, DEA and ATF, among others. Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal officers have made nearly 400 arrests, while the D.C. Police Union said crime is down significantly across the city.
Trump hasn’t said how long he’ll deploy the National Guard troops or what their goal is. Trump’s attempts to federalize the Washington Metropolitan Police Department are limited under the 1973 Home Rule Act. Trump doesn’t face such restrictions for National Guard troops, although they can’t conduct law-enforcement functions.
But D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser suggested Monday that the operation is about detaining undocumented immigrants, not fighting crime.
“If this is really about immigration enforcement, then I think the administration should make that plain,” Bowser told reporters.
