"There's no money [left for Ukraine], so I can only be left to assume one of three things. One is the war is over. Two or B is the United States won't be allocating any more dollars or C that this is a dishonest [supplemental] request. I guess the question is, are we going … to get another supplemental because members of this committee had been told there could be another request for $100 billion? I'm just trying to understand the totality of the request to the American people for this war," Schmitt said in his remarks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
In February, the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes some $60 billion for Ukraine, but it was held up in the House of Representatives by Speaker Mike Johnson, who prioritized working on budget legislation and exploring other routes for Ukraine funding.
Austin confirmed to Schmitt, though, that the supplemental request, which has not yet been voted on in the House, will provide additional funding for Ukraine-related needs only through the end of this fiscal year or September 30, meaning that there will be a need for another supplemental package past this date.
In addition, Austin said that it was a goal of the Alliance to admit Ukraine to NATO some time in the future.
The Pentagon chief also agreed with Schmitt that the conflict is unlikely to end by September 30, which essentially means that the pending aid package for Ukraine obviously will not be the last.
Schmitt emphasized that US legislators are skeptical about the $60 billion supplemental package for Ukraine because there are no adequate controls on how the money is being spent by Ukraine.
"We are continuing to head down this road and now we are getting a budget request that isn't reflective of the administration's ‘how long it takes’ statement," Schmitt said.