- Sen. John Curtis on Tuesday sought a White House briefing on paused Ukraine weapon shipments.
- President Donald Trump resumed shipments Monday, citing Ukraine's need for defense against Russia.
- Curtis supports resumption but questioned the initial pause, seeking clarity.
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Curtis praised the Trump administration for resuming the country's weapons shipments to Ukraine on Monday but called on the White House to provide a congressional briefing as to why the transfers were paused at all.
President Donald Trump announced on Monday he would "send some more weapons" to the war-torn country after those shipments were halted last week, telling reporters the Ukrainian military has "to be able to defend themselves." That move was hailed by Republicans but left others to question why the Trump administration ordered the suspension — and who, specifically.
"The President is right to resume weapons shipments to Ukraine. Deterrence works, and I support efforts that send a clear signal to adversaries like Russia and China that America keeps its commitments," Curtis wrote in a post on X.
"That said, I hope the Administration will brief Congress on why these shipments were paused in the first place," he added. "The President is in a very strong position after the successful NATO Summit and strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and this pause caught many — including allies and members of Congress — off guard."
Curtis' comments come hours after Trump was pressed on the halted shipments, telling reporters he wasn't sure who approved the order.
"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The resumed shipments follow reports last week that the Trump administration would no longer send the weapons, including air defense missiles, to Ukraine. That decision was made after a review of military spending that was approved by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to CNN.
Trump appeared to reverse that decision on Monday evening when he announced he would green light the shipments.
"They're getting hit very hard. We're going to have to send more weapons," Trump said. "Defensive weapons, primarily, but they're getting hit very, very hard."
The president has also grown more critical of his Russian counterpart, telling reporters on Tuesday he was "not happy" with Russian President Vladimir Putin after he failed to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.
"We get a lot of (expletive) thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump said during the Cabinet meeting. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
Trump accused Putin of "killing too many people," citing that as a reason why he resumed the weapons shipments to Ukraine this week. Trump spoke with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week as he works to facilitate peace talks, but he expressed frustration with the Kremlin for not doing enough to end the war.
"We're not happy with Putin. I'm not happy with Putin," Trump said.
