Overview

• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in Washington to discuss selling U.S. arms to allies for onward delivery to Ukraine with President Trump, Secretary Rubio, Defense Secretary Hegseth and key senators
• The administration agreed to resume sending defensive weapons after a brief pause, drawing on $3.85 billion in existing drawdown authority and potential use of $5 billion in seized Russian assets
• Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal have crafted bipartisan legislation imposing 500 percent tariffs on imports from countries trading in Russian energy, but the measure awaits presidential approval
• Senator Rubio emphasized that repositioning U.S.-made munitions from European stockpiles to Ukraine will be faster than new factory production, with replacement purchases filling allied arsenals
• French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu warned of a gap in European ground-to-air missile capacity until next year, underscoring urgency for U.S. support