Four US Republicans call for Trump to release Taiwan security funds — SkimNews
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- Four Republican senators — Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Lisa Murkowski, and Thom Tillis — wrote to Secretary of State Rubio and Defense Secretary Hegseth demanding the release of more than $15 billion in stalled national security assistance for Taiwan.
- The letter cites the State Department's failure to move $300 million in congressionally appropriated foreign military financing and the Defense Department's failure to obligate $1 billion for the island.
- Senators also flagged the administration's hold on a $14 billion package of foreign military sales to Taiwan, which has been stalled for months following an $11 billion December package — the largest ever approved for Taipei.
- The letter expressed alarm over Trump's description of Taiwan as "a very good negotiating chip" in dealings with Xi Jinping, arguing that withholding deterrent capabilities undermines US credibility in the Indo-Pacific.
- Xi Jinping is expected to press Trump to halt Taiwan arms sales altogether under the 1982 US-China joint statement during his three-day Washington visit, per sources briefed on the trip's agenda.
- Three of the four signatories — McConnell, Cornyn, and Tillis — are leaving the Senate at year's end; only Murkowski will remain, making this one of their final foreign policy interventions from Capitol Hill.
Why it matters: Public criticism from members of Trump's own party over Taiwan policy — normally a zone of presidential deference — lands three days before Xi arrives, raising the political cost of treating $15 billion in already-approved and appropriated aid as a bargaining chip. With three of four signatories departing the Senate in weeks, the window for congressional pushback on Taiwan arms delays is rapidly closing.
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