Trump’s NATO deal to arm Ukraine wins over GOP skeptics

Lawmakers long opposed to providing aid to Ukraine are now on board, if cautiously. President Donald Trump’s plan to assist the war effort comes with a twist because Washington won’t pay for the weapons sent to Kyiv. 

Months after calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and questioning whether he even wanted to end the war with Russia, Trump has seemingly pivoted his frustrations to President Vladimir Putin. 

Now, the U.S. will provide weapons to Ukraine using European money. 

Even Vice President JD Vance is supportive of the move. 

NATO CHIEF PRAISES TRUMP’S WEAPONS SALES TO ALLIES AS ‘SIGNIFICANT’ MOVE THAT COULD FORCE PUTIN TO NEGOTIATE

“Vice President Vance completely supports President Trump’s plan to save American taxpayers from indefinitely funding the conflict in Ukraine and remains committed to the president’s goal of ending the bloodshed in Eastern Europe,” a Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“While Joe Biden stupidly sent billions of American tax dollars to Ukraine, President Trump put America first and smartly struck a deal that puts the onus on our allies in Europe to pay for the aid to Ukraine.”

Under the Biden administration, Vance struck a different tone. 

TRUMP SAYS US WILL SEND PATRIOT MISSILES TO UKRAINE, ADDS THAT PUTIN ‘TALKS NICE AND THEN HE BOMBS EVERYBODY’

“This is not just a matter of dollars. Fundamentally, we lack the capacity to manufacture the amount of weapons Ukraine needs us to supply to win the war,” he wrote in a New York Times op-ed last year. “The Biden administration has no viable plan for the Ukrainians to win this war.”

Less than two years ago, House Republicans ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy over a “secret side deal” to fund Ukraine. Months later, Speaker Mike Johnson risked the same fate over a Ukraine package that most of his members voted down. 

But last week, Trump abruptly undid a Pentagon review that paused weapons shipments to Ukraine.  Now, with Trump’s new Europe pays model, the weapons are flowing, and the resistance is fading.

After repeatedly criticizing Zelenskyy and casting doubt on Ukraine’s war goals, Trump now says Putin may not be serious about peace. 

“We get a lot of bulls— thrown at us by Putin,” Trump said during a recent Cabinet meeting. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

The about-face has given Republican holdouts cover to reframe their positions — even if they remain skeptical. 

“I think they’re going to have to justify it, why now?” said Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who voted against all Ukraine supplemental funding packages. 

“When Biden was doing it, he didn’t know what he was doing. It was just money going to all different directions,” he added. “But there’ll be a lot of debate on it, as it should be.”

The successful strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were a win for interventionism, some lawmakers say, and have seemingly quieted isolationist sentiment. 

“I trust the generals right now,” Norman said when asked whether he believed more weapons would prolong or shorten the war. “They would do the right thing in Ukraine.” 

SENATE MOVES TO REIN IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FLUCTUATING UKRAINE POLICY

Freshman Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said he still saw Trump’s policy as a return to “realism and restraint.” 

“Many people in this country have been burned by an overzealous foreign policy,” Gill said. “Getting involved in conflicts abroad without any understanding of what a path to peace would look like, what victory really means. And President Trump is reining that in.

“He’s doing things a little bit differently, is getting NATO on board, and that’s a good thing.”

In March, when the administration paused military aid, Gill had celebrated Trump “driving a knife right through the foreign policy UniParty.” 

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., called the new U.S.-NATO plan for Ukraine aid “great.” 

“I think more weapons will shorten [the war,]” he said. “We’re looking at NATO purchasing weapons from us. That’s a good thing right there.” 

“Putin needs to understand that our patience is running short. And he needs to understand it’s Vladimir Putin against the world,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis.

Last year, Van Orden railed against the Biden administration for failing to provide a plan to end the war. This time, the idea of Europe footing the bill seems to have sold him. 

“Europe has to step up and do the preponderance of their own defense,” he told Fox News Digital. 

Van Orden blamed the invasion on European NATO allies failing to meet their 2% goal for defense spending. 

“If the members of NATO had gone to 2% of GDP ten years ago when they promised to, do you think Vladimir Putin would have invaded Ukraine?” Van Orden wondered.

At a White House meeting Monday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said a “very big deal” had been agreed to by Europeans to purchase.

“Billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO … And that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said.

Trump said the package would be comprehensive, including Patriot missile batteries that Ukraine needs for air defenses. 

“It’s everything. It’s Patriots. It’s all of them. It’s a full complement with the batteries,” Trump said.