Chuck Schumer Tears Into Hegseth After Reportedly Pausing Ukraine Aid Without Informing White House

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly pausing weapons shipments to Ukraine without informing the White House.

Transcript

00:00On Hegseth, Secretary Hegseth continues to be an embarrassment and a liability,

00:06and Donald Trump should never have chosen him to lead the Pentagon.

00:11For the second time this year, Secretary Hegseth haphazardly canceled the shipment of vital weapons

00:18that Ukraine needs in its war for survival against Vladimir Putin.

00:23And for the second time this year, his decision was eventually walked back by the President.

00:28The White House is apparently claiming that Secretary Hegseth acted without alerting a soul outside the Pentagon.

00:37Not the U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine.

00:40Not the Secretary of State.

00:41Not even the President of the United States.

00:44It is good the President now says he'll reinstate the shipment of weapons to Ukraine.

00:50But the administration's handling of this situation has been unacceptable.

00:55When asked by reporters who ordered the pause, the President said,

00:59I don't know, why don't you tell me?

01:01This is amateur hour.

01:04Amateur hour.

01:05What the heck is going on at the Pentagon?

01:08When Hegseth was up for the nomination, we all talked about on our side of the aisle,

01:13Democrats talked about how bad he would be, how unqualified he is.

01:16And this is just another example.

01:19Being a host of a talk radio show does not qualify you to be Secretary of State,

01:25as Secretary of Defense, as this incident shows.

01:29The pause of weapons to Ukraine is at best a dangerous breakdown in communications,

01:34and at worst a sign that Secretary Hegseth is more interested in helping Putin than helping Ukraine.

01:41And what are U.S. allies supposed to make of this weapon's pause?

01:45Sure, it is good that Donald Trump reversed himself, but our allies will wonder, will this happen again?

01:52You know who benefits most from Secretary Hegseth and Donald Trump's incompetence?

01:57Vladimir Putin.

01:59When Putin sees the disorganization and lack of strategy, he has no incentive to negotiate.

02:04So Donald Trump is actually undercutting himself, and Hegseth is undercutting Trump

02:09in a desire to come to an agreement, a fair agreement for Ukraine.

02:14When he sees Americans, when Putin sees America pours vital weapon shipments to Ukraine,

02:20even for a moment, it emboldens him.

02:24Instead of saying, I don't know, you tell me, here is what Donald Trump should do.

02:30He should unequivocally state the United States stands with Ukraine and against Putin.

02:35He should state that he fully supports additional air defense for Ukraine

02:39in a strong bipartisan sanctions package moving through the Senate,

02:43one that will give more leverage against Putin.

02:49And Donald Trump should pick someone else to serve as Secretary of State.

02:54All of the charges, all of the arguments we made against him,

03:01that he was incompetent, inexperienced, and unreliable,

03:06seem to be coming true, unfortunately, for the defense of this country.

Category

Transcript

Recommended