GOP senators alarmed by Hegseth's Ukraine aid freeze, seek probe

Washington [US], July 11 (ANI): Republican senators have voiced serious concerns following reports that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth froze weapons shipments to Ukraine without prior approval from US President Donald Trump, raising questions about coordination between the Pentagon and the White House, The Hill reported.
Senate Republicans say the freeze may have resulted from "miscommunication" between Trump and Hegseth. A senior Senate Republican aide called it "a clear goof-up on a lot of levels," according to The Hill.
Some GOP sources on Capitol Hill warned that if Hegseth or his senior team acted to deliberately bypass the president, it would present a significant issue. Senate Republicans are "alarmed" by reports that Hegseth may have paused shipments multiple times without informing lawmakers and are now demanding to know who at the Pentagon was involved.
"That's a problem," said one GOP senator who requested anonymity. "To hear there may have been other pauses or this pause went on longer than any of us know, to me that's alarming," the senator added.
"I would elevate this to being beyond concerned, to being alarmed. It's not like we're talking to a small arms sale to some African nation, this is Ukraine. This is like the biggest political debate. ... This is not something where you have your secretary of Defense or your assistant or your deputy not be in sync with your president. I find it alarming that you would not have greater understanding as to what is our plan here. That's kind of scary," the lawmaker told The Hill.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) offered sharp criticism of Hegseth in an interview with CNN, saying the Defense Secretary is "out of his depth" in leading the Pentagon. "Now with the passing of time, I think it's clear he's out of his depth as a manager of a large, complex organization," he said. Tillis, who had voted to confirm Hegseth in January, added he probably wouldn't vote the same way "based on the information ... today," The Hill noted.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a leading proponent of military aid to Ukraine, said Congress must get to the bottom of who ordered the freeze. "We'll get to the bottom of that later," he said.
Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) stressed the need for Congressional oversight. "We need to do our oversight here, ask our questions of this administration just as we have previous administrations," Young said. "We need to hold hearings and ask questions and learn what's going on," according to The Hill.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, said there appeared to be a major communication breakdown between the president and Hegseth. "My sense is there was miscommunication entirely between the White House and secretary of Defense, which I think underscores the chaotic nature of the way operations are being run. Miscommunication, misinformation, etc.," he said.
"I think Trump decided he wanted the weapons and assumed they were going and then discovered to his dismay that they weren't and Hegseth had been the one to stop them," Reed told The Hill. "It's an example of miscommunication of really basic instincts and insights about how one manages the Department of Defense and coordinates with the White House in a way that at least the president knows what you're doing."
Republican sources familiar with the situation confirmed to The Hill that Hegseth acted on a misunderstanding of what Trump intended regarding the weapons shipments. A senior Senate GOP aide said Trump would not have wanted to trigger negative headlines after a successful NATO summit in The Hague.
NBC News reported this was the third time Hegseth had frozen military aid to Ukraine, with previous suspensions in February and May. The Hill cited CNN as reporting that Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, a known skeptic of large-scale Ukraine aid, supported the pause and that Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg approved it.
According to CNN, Hegseth did not inform the White House before halting the latest shipment, nor did he alert U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg or Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of time. Politico reported the decision to halt the delivery of air defense missiles and munitions was made in June and took effect at the start of July.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the issue when contacted Thursday, The Hill said.
One Republican senator, speaking anonymously, called it a "rookie mistake," warning, "I hope we don't see a Department of Defense where you have certain individuals who don't have the authority think they can assume the authority" to unilaterally stop weapons transfers.
President Trump reversed the freeze on Monday and told reporters Tuesday he was unaware who had ordered it. Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) praised the president for overruling "isolationists and restrainers" within the administration.
"The president will need to reject calls from the isolationists and restrainers within his administration to limit these deliveries to defensive weapons. And he should disregard those at DoD who invoke munitions shortages to block aid while refusing to invest seriously in expanding munitions productions," McConnell said, in remarks seemingly directed at Colby, The Hill reported.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) seized on the episode to criticise the administration. "What are U.S. allies supposed to make of this weapons pause? Sure, it is good Donald Trump reversed himself but our allies will wonder, 'Will this happen again?'" he said.
"You know who benefits most from Secretary Hegseth's and Donald Trump's incompetence? Vladimir Putin. When Putin sees the disorganization and lack of strategy, he has no incentive to negotiate," Schumer said, according to The Hill. (ANI)