The White House is set to run out of money to provide more weapons to Ukraine "without congressional action" by the end of the year, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young has warned.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, she pointed out that "there is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment" and that the US is "out of money—and nearly out of time."
"Cutting off the flow of US weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made, but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories," Young wrote.
She recalled that US security assistance packages to Ukraine had already become smaller and the deliveries have been “more limited”. With US allies around the world stepping up to do more, “US support is critical and cannot be replicated by others,” according to the her.
Young added that almost all of the $111 billion allocated by Congress to assist Ukraine had already been used. Most money was used for military aid, while other sums were spent on economic and civil assistance, as well as humanitarian aid.
The letter comes after a classified Capitol Hill briefing for the top House and Senate leaders, to who Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made clear that "Ukraine needs the aid soon."
The proposal, however, faced flak from an array of Republicans in the House of Representatives who have questioned delivering more to Ukraine and tried to tie any additional funding to demands for security measures at the US-Mexico border.
The US lawmakers’ previous disagreements over aiding Ukraine brought America to the brink of a government shutdown in late September, which was followed by then-GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy being ousted by his own party for cutting a deal with President Joe Biden to continue funding the Zelensky regime.
The US, along with its NATO allies, ramped up funding to Kiev shortly after the start of the Russian special military operation. Moscow has repeatedly warned that such assistance adds to the prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine.