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The Senate is seeking to rein in the Trump administration’s policy toward Ukraine, which has oscillated between support and sudden withdrawal, leaving allies and officials guessing.
After President Donald Trump recently agreed to resume sending weapons to Ukraine, the Senate’s annual defense policy bill would curb the kind of executive branch adventurism that has sparked bipartisan concern, particularly regarding Pentagon decisions.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), unveiled Friday after bipartisan negotiations by the Senate Armed Services Committee, includes specific guardrails on U.S. military cooperation. One provision stipulates that the secretary of defense cannot unilaterally cease military intelligence sharing and targeting cooperation with Ukraine.
This move follows a March episode in which the Trump administration abruptly paused both intelligence support and weapons shipments to Ukraine while the president pursued backchannel diplomacy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though the freeze was later lifted, the incident alarmed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
TRUMP REVEALS NATO SALE TO BOOST ARMS TO UKRAINE AS PUTIN LAUNCHES OVERNIGHT MATERNITY HOSPITAL STRIKE
Firefighters work at the site of horse stalls heavily damaged by a Russian drone strike in Odesa, Ukraine, July 11, 2025. (Reuters/Nina Liashonok)
The NDAA also “reaffirms that it is the policy of the United States to assist Ukraine in maintaining a credible defense” and boosts the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to $500 million.
The bill bars Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from reducing U.S. force posture in Europe or relinquishing the U.S. role as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander without an impact analysis and certification to Congress that such changes align with U.S. interests.
The new provisions arrive amid a notable shift in Trump’s rhetoric, which has turned more supportive of Ukraine and more critical of…
