Political Quotes

“Mr. Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk on behalf of myself and Senators Burr, McSally, Daines, Moran, Young, and Sasse. The CHIEF JUSTICE. The Senators' question is directed to counsel for the President. Is it true the Trump administration approved supplying Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine? Is it also true this decision came on the heels of a nearly three-year debate in Washington over whether the United States should provide lethal defense weapons to counter further Russian aggression in Europe? By comparison, did President Obama refuse to send weapons or other lethal military gear to Ukraine? Was this decision against the advice of his Defense Secretary and other key military leaders in his administration? Mr. Counsel PHILBIN. Mr. Chief Justice, Senators. Thank you, Senators, for the question. Yes, the Trump administration made the decision to provide Javelin anti-tank missiles, and there was a significant debate about that for some time. Authorization had been granted by Congress, and many of you voted for that statutory authorization during the Obama administration to provide lethal assistance to Ukraine, but the Obama administration decided not to provide that. It was only the Trump administration that made that lethal assistance available, and there was a significant amount of testimony in the House proceedings that President Trump's policy toward Ukraine was actually stronger.…”