The US Department of Defense (DoD) will “temporarily pause” financial assistance to determine what programs, projects, and activities may be implicated by President Donald Trump’s flurry of Executive Orders upon entering the White House.
Notably, the suspension does not extend to defence contract awards. At present, this remains the only exclusion from the department’s bottlenecked finances. All other spending activites appear to be under review, including, it seems, Foreign Military Sales and Security Assistance packages.
This decision, which the Pentagon said it will conduct “expeditiously,” was taken on 28 January 2025.
In the hours after his inauguration, Trump’s numerous presidential orders called on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to re-evaluate the “economic and social costs” of measures such as DEIA, and others, enacted by his progressive predecessor, Joe Biden.
On 26 January, the Department of State, led by Marco Rubio, announced that the government will similarly ‘revaluate and realign’ the United States’ foreign aid to adhere to the America First doctrine.
The Pentagon pause has already started to pressure Ukraine, whose head of state, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressed concern that American contributions will soon run dry:
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By GlobalData“I instructed [Ukraine’s] government officials to provide a report on those American support programmes that are currently suspended,” which Zelenskyy suggested were largely humanitarian programmes.
“There are many projects,” he emphasised. “We will determine which ones are critical and need immediate solutions. We can provide part of this funding through our state finances, and we will discuss some of them with Europeans and Americans.”
Military assistance to Ukraine is uncertain
Details of the US suspension have yet to be ironed out, with the DoD suggesting that they will be “providing more details regarding this matter as they develop and become available.”
While day-to-day contracts will continue to flow within the bounds of the Pentagon’s budget, which is more than $800bn according to GlobalData intelligence, the department has not made clear the impact the pause will have on military assistance to foreign nations such as Ukraine.
In a call with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, three days ago, the Pentagon’s financial pause did not stop the new Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, from pledging the US would “ensure that Israel has the capabilities it needs to defend itself.”
Whereas, the Trump administration’s position on Ukraine continues to hang in the balance. At most, Rubio welcomed the EU’s extension of sanctions against Russia in a call with its foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on the 28 January.
Some indication of the government’s position on Ukraine may be taken from Hegseth’s address to the armed forces several days ago, wherein he reiterated his commitment to Trump’s “priority to end wars responsibly and reorient to key threats.”
