Trump Links Biden’s Ukraine Aid to Pentagon’s Iran War Funding Request

With the Pentagon perchance seeking a $200 cardinal supplemental bundle to money the ongoing warfare with Iran, President Donald Trump defended that fig successful portion by saying U.S. ammunition “was taken down by giving truthful overmuch to Ukraine.” He past exaggerated the magnitude of assistance to Ukraine and falsely said that erstwhile President Joe Biden “didn’t rebuild anything” successful the defence stockpile.

Trump has a constituent that the subject assistance provided to Ukraine reduced the U.S. reserve of weapons. But that assistance mostly has not affected the subject operations successful Iran, defence experts told us.

Furthermore, Biden signed aggregate spending bills passed by Congress that included backing to regenerate the older weapons that the U.S. gave to Ukraine with caller items. Experts besides told america that Biden’s medication enactment wealth into expanding the accumulation of munitions for the military.

“Of course, the Biden medication built a batch successful presumption of subject equipment,” Mark F. Cancian, elder advisor for the defence and information section astatine the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told america successful an email. “Whether it did capable is different question.”

The taxable of the $200 cardinal petition came up during a March 19 meeting successful the Oval Office erstwhile a newsman asked Trump wherefore the backing would beryllium indispensable if, arsenic Trump had said, the warfare with Iran would “pretty soon” beryllium over.

“Well, we’re asking for a batch of reasons beyond adjacent what we’re talking astir successful Iran,” the president responded. He went connected to add: “We privation to person immense amounts of ammunition, which we person close now. We person a batch of ammunition, but it was taken down by giving truthful overmuch to Ukraine. They gave truthful much. You know, Biden gave $350 cardinal worthy of currency and subject instrumentality to Ukraine, and helium didn’t rebuild anything.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth besides brought up Biden erstwhile asked astir the imaginable $200 cardinal supplemental successful a press conference that aforesaid day.

“As acold arsenic $200 billion, I deliberation that fig could move,” Hegseth said. “It takes wealth to termination atrocious guys. So, we’re going backmost to Congress and folks determination to guarantee that we’re decently funded for what’s been done, for what we whitethorn person to bash successful the future, guarantee that our ammunition is – everything’s refilled and not conscionable refilled, but supra and beyond.”

He went connected to say: “And I think, you know, we’re besides inactive dealing with the situation that Joe Biden created, which was – which was depleting those banal holds and not sending them to our ain military, but to Ukraine – which is when, each clip we scope backmost and look astatine immoderate benignant of a situation we have, it goes backmost to well, nonstop it to Ukraine.”

But arsenic we’ve written, the U.S. did not springiness “$350 cardinal worthy of currency and subject instrumentality to Ukraine.” Trump has made that mendacious assertion aggregate times.

During the Biden administration, astir $183 cardinal – not including a $20 cardinal indebtedness – was made disposable for assistance to Ukraine, aft Russia invaded successful February 2022, according to a study released successful February 2025 by a peculiar inspector wide overseeing U.S. enactment for Ukraine. The immense bulk of that wealth was authorized by Congress successful a bid of bipartisan appropriations bills. A information of the backing was dedicated to subject assistance alternatively than humanitarian oregon different fiscal aid.

Biden’s Defense Department said successful a January 2025 information sheet that it committed much than $66.5 cardinal successful information assistance to Ukraine, including astir $65.9 cardinal pursuing the penetration by Russia successful aboriginal 2022. Part of that subject assistance included the transportation of a assortment of missiles, artillery, tanks and different armaments from the Defense Department. 

Defense experts told america that assistance has temporarily reduced the U.S. reserve of disposable weapons.

“It is existent that U.S. stockpiles are severely depleted by assistance to Ukraine,” Jennifer Kavanagh, a elder chap and manager of subject investigation astatine Defense Priorities, a deliberation vessel that advocates a “restrained overseas policy,” told america successful an email. “This semipermanent occupation volition instrumentality clip to address. It is not thing that has been resolved and is ongoing crossed galore types of munitions and aerial defense.”

However, she said it would beryllium “misleading” to suggest that subject assistance to Ukraine is liable for astir of the “current munitions concerns” successful Iran due to the fact that of the benignant of weapons that person been utilized successful the warfare to date.

“With the objection of Patriot interceptors, astir [of] the munitions successful usage successful the Middle East were not fixed to Ukraine astatine immoderate point,” Kavanagh said, referring to the PATRIOT aerial defence systems that tin sprout down incoming ballistic missiles.

For example, the Washington Post reported, citing anonymous sources, that the U.S. utilized much than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles against Iran successful a month, raising concerns among immoderate Pentagon officials astir the constricted supply. But the U.S. has not given Tomahawks to Ukraine, adjacent though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has requested them.

Cancian, astatine the Center for Strategic and International Studies, besides told america successful an email that too “Patriot batteries and missiles,” which Ukraine has utilized “extensively” against Russia, the munitions the U.S. gave to Ukraine “were astir wholly for crushed forces, which is not an contented successful the existent war.”

So far, U.S. crushed troops person not been ordered into combat. The U.S. and Israel person conducted associated airstrikes since launching the attack connected Iran connected Feb. 28. But thousands of American soldiers were recently deployed to the Middle East successful lawsuit Trump does authorize crushed operations.

“So, it is just to nexus Ukraine assistance to shortages successful U.S. Patriot rocket stockpiles, but not constricted mag extent much broadly,” Kavanagh said. “That larger occupation stems from years of debased accumulation and constraints connected the U.S. defence concern base.”

Cancian said that CSIS has estimated that the inventory of Patriot missiles volition past done the warfare with Iran, but “will beryllium good beneath what warfare planners privation for a imaginable struggle successful the occidental Pacific.” Exact figures are not available due to the fact that inventory totals are classified.

Meanwhile, some defence experts told america that Trump was incorrect to assertion that Biden did thing arsenic president to effort to “rebuild” the stockpile.

“The Biden medication invested heavy successful the U.S. defence concern basal and began a monolithic ramp-up successful the accumulation of galore types of munitions that Trump continues,” Kavanagh said. “Much of the backing successful the defence supplemental appropriations went to this intent and the Pentagon made a existent effort to grow munitions accumulation and stockpiles. Some would accidental that Biden did not bash capable oregon acted excessively slowly, but these are judgement calls. It is not close to accidental helium built nothing.”

Cancian said that Biden “began the process of expanding munitions accumulation by investing wealth successful facilities and signing multiyear contracts.” He besides noted that Congress, nether Biden, appropriated wealth to regenerate each the subject instrumentality that the U.S. sent to Ukraine.

Biden made that constituent himself successful an October 2023 address to the American public.

“Let maine beryllium wide astir something,” the erstwhile president said. “We nonstop Ukraine instrumentality sitting successful our stockpiles. And erstwhile we usage the wealth allocated by Congress, we usage it to replenish our ain stores, our ain stockpiles, with caller equipment. Equipment that defends America and is made successful America.”

The issue, Cancian said, is that “it volition instrumentality years earlier each of the replacement instrumentality arrives.” He said, “That spread constitutes hazard if different conflicts interruption out.”

On Jan. 20, 2025, the time that Biden near office, the State Department said that Presidential Drawdown Authority had been utilized 55 times since August 2021 to supply subject assistance to Ukraine “totaling astir $31.7 cardinal from DoD stockpiles.” The February 2025 report from the Ukraine oversight inspector wide said that Congress appropriated $45.8 cardinal to regenerate the materials the Defense Department donated to Ukraine.

Notably, erstwhile we asked astir the $200 cardinal Pentagon petition and Trump’s and Hegseth’s claims astir Biden draining the U.S. stockpile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the U.S. has each that it needs for operations successful Iran.

“The US subject has much than capable munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to execute the goals of Operation Epic Fury laid retired by President Trump — and beyond,” she said successful an emailed statement.

“Nevertheless,” she went on, “President Trump has ever been intensely focused connected strengthen[ing] our Armed Forces and helium volition proceed to telephone connected defence contractors to much speedily physique American-made weapons, which are the champion successful the world.”

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